Galapagos Islands certainly are a wild, pristine, and barren paradise on this planet. This morning we explored a couple of islands located in the central part of the Galapagos Archipelago. Here, wildlife and landscapes form a special blend of flavors and scenes mixed on a very fragile line.
In the early morning we visited a little islet called Sombrero Chino due to its particular shape. This volcano is a young formation in the archipelago therefore vegetation is at the very beginning of the colonization process. The wildlife in this place is superb! Just think of a combination of creatures from cool regions like penguins and sea lions and, on the other hand, snakes, lizards, and candelabra cacti from the rusty lava flows.
At mid-morning we explored another place on the same island. This time we paid a visit to the marine life of the shallow shore. Here, tropical fish are abundant, and the water at this time is getting warmer and very enjoyable. While snorkeling we had the opportunity to see lots of tropical fish, including white-tipped reef sharks!
Santiago Island is large island and Sullivan Bay was our destination for the afternoon. This place is a vast lava flow with hardy pioneer plants growing here and there. These organisms are the showcases of the process of colonization on a barren island. Little by little the lava will become eroded and vegetated. This process is very slow and it takes thousands of years.
Galapagos penguins made our day! We met them at the snorkeling site while taking a Zodiac ride. There were a couple of baby penguins, still with their downy coats. These birds are the only type of penguins that entirely live in the tropics. In fact this is the only penguin above the equator line in the world.
Today we navigated from a place where the ocean was well colonized by color species to a place where primary succession was just starting, giving life a chance to perform the most beautiful show on earth.
