Today we arrived at Punta Pitt which is the closest point to mainland Ecuador from the Galapagos, about 600 nautical miles away. It’s on the island of Cristobal, one of the oldest islands of the archipelago. Early in the morning we visited a green sandy beach made up of ashes and olivine crystals, and we had to climb through an eroded canyon created by the erosion of water and wind over hundreds of thousands of years. One of the goals of the morning was to see the three species of boobies found on these islands. We observed red-footed boobies nesting on trees, Nasca Bobbies flying by the shore rocks, and blue-footed boobies nesting in the middle of our trail! The scenic views were also very beautiful: Galapagos Nolana with its succulent leaves, Cristobal giant daisies, and also Sesuvium portulacastrum, or Galapagos carpet weed, a colorful purple and green addition to the rocky landscape and a very attractive succulent plant. After all of that we headed back to the beach for a refreshing swim with sea lions and our younger explorers made sandcastles and even a mermaid sculpture!
After lunch, we spent the afternoon in Leon Dormido, a nearby tuff cone. Our purpose was snorkeling with big fish. We also saw many invertebrates, from brightly colored sponges and sea urchins to cup corals colonizing the external walls of the cone. Many sea turtles were also spotted and black tip reef sharks, Galapagos sharks, hammerhead sharks and black tipped reef sharks swam by. It was a great adventure.
At the end of the afternoon everyone met at the sky deck as we circumnavigated Leon Dormido, with an impressive sunset as the background to our last day in paradise…
