Sombrero Chino, translation-Chinese Hat, with its almost symmetric shape are remnants of recent volcanic activity.
Today we began our activities fairly early, around six thirty in the morning. We started with a Zodiac ride for some members of the group and kayaking for anybody who wanted more physical activity. Everybody had a great opportunity to enjoy this place.
After a good breakfast, which gave us energy for the rest of the morning, we went snorkeling in the canal between SombreroChino and Santiago Island. It’s a lovely place with shallow, clear waters. Everybody met penguins, and white tipped sharks along their way in addition to a nice variety of colorful, tropical fish.
For our next activity of the morning the National Geographic Islander went by one of the formations of Bainbridge rocks. There are several tuff cones next to each other and one of them has a lagoon where Greater Flamingoes hang out. Where else in the world can you see these two species in one day? Penguins and flamingoes!!!!
After lunch Lynn gave a talk about her research on Galapagos Tortoises. It was great to see pictures of their interaction with a human being who lived next to them for several months.
Later on in the afternoon we had our last outing of the day, a dry landing on a pahoe-hoe lava field. This is recent flow, only around 130 years of age. It’s a relatively smooth surface and we spent almost two hours walking along what looked like a collection of art pieces created by nature - ropy textures resembling water ripples, waves, drops, and bubbles. The color contrast between the blue water, black lava, and red and brown hills was breathtaking.
We got back on board to enjoy the rest of the evening, contemplating this landscape from the top deck of the National Geographic Islander.
