It was our last full day in the Galapagos Islands where we were to visit what we considered one of the oldest islands in the archipelago: San Cristobal. Located in the easternmost part of the archipelago, San Cristobal hosts unique species such as the San Cristobal mockingbird, San Cristobal lava lizard, and two subspecies of marine iguanas. Today we landed in Punta Pitt, on the northern edge of the island. We were welcomed by a sea lion family with flips and jumps, expressing their happiness at our arrival. As soon as we started walking, we realized the beach was glowing; the sand was so shiny due to high concentration of green olivine that reflects the sun light. It was truly magical. The volcanic scenery that we observed during our advanced hike was spectacular; the peaks of tuff high in the sky makes this site very different from what we have already observed. The scenery from up above was incredible, here we spotted red-footed boobies, blue-footed boobies, frigates, and a few Nazca boobies flying as well. All our senses become aware as we listened to our surroundings.
In the afternoon, we visited Wizard’s Hill, an outstanding white sandy beach in the western part of San Cristobal Island. This is one of our favorite places in the archipelago. Here guests spent time fully relaxing and enjoying a peaceful time in crystalline turquoise water while our young explorers had a blast swimming and building sandcastles while also above a rainbow decorated the landscape. We came back aboard to make our way around Kicker Rock, observing there a great number of sea birds nesting on it. This was perfect time for family pictures with a beautiful sunset light. We all finished this day tired but happy, with the best memories of incredible and wild creatures that will remain in our minds and memories forever. This was an unforgettable week in paradise cruising with aboard National Geographic Endeavour II.
