San Cristobal Island

It was a great day today:-) It has been a lifelong dream to visit the Galapagos and see the creatures made famous by Darwin's theory of Evolution.

We did a tour of San Cristobal Island. We hiked to Laguna El Junco which is an inactive volcano crater that is the only freshwater lake in the Galapagos. It was formed due to the impermeable ground and the rain water accumulation in the area. While we were there the fog came in to shroud the lake in a thick curtain.

Photo 1: Ross and Stephen at Laguna El Junco

This was followed by a visit to an area called La Galapagaguera where the fabled Galápagos giant tortoise (Geochelone nigra) live and breed. It was magic to see these revered creatures in their natural habitat. We also saw many varieties of Finch which Darwin used to prove his theory and countless Mockingbirds.

Photo 2: Galápagos giant tortoise

At Punta Carola there were many Marine Iguanas sunbathing on the volcanic rocks. They were so well camouflaged that it was difficult to find them.They have no fear whatsoever and allowed us to walk quite close.

Photo 3: Marine Iguana

The beach was also home to sea lions, rock crabs, lava lizards, blue footed boobies and terns.

A visit to the Centro de Interpretacion topped off a special day.