Visiting three islands—Santiago Island, Bartolomé Island, and North Seymour Island—in less than two days was a phenomenal way to wrap up our once-in-a-lifetime cruise around the Galápagos. Each island is drastically different from one another yet equally fascinating.
Santiago Island & Chinese Hat
With only a day and a half remaining of our Galápagos cruise, we were excited to begin our morning with another lovely hike on one of the smallest islands in the Galápagos—Sombrero Chino.
Sombrero Chino, or Chinese Hat, is a small islet that resembles a traditional Chinese hat from the overlook on Santiago Island. This landmark location has become one of the most recognizable islands in the archipelago due to its distinctive shape. Despite its small size, there is much to be seen on this island, offering visitors an unforgettable experience both in and out of the water.
Early on in the hike, we spotted a juvenile hawk and were able to watch it for quite a while. It glided from spot to spot looking for food and appeared to have found something at one point.
This young predator was striking, with its intricate pattern amidst the pastel green and red plants. We enjoyed watching it hop around, periodically shoving its beak into the brush for food before it spread its wings and flew away.
Bright red Sally Lightfoot Crabs covered the rocky edges that bordered the water. They effortlessly scampered from rock to rock, drawing your eyes from one spot along the shoreline to the next.
As we got a closer look at some of these crabs, we noticed many had opened their lower flap and were foaming or bubbling, so to speak.
Several had little black balls that could be seen inside of the flap. I have no idea what was happening, but nature sure is interesting.
Several sea lions lazed along the shoreline, including one very young baby nursing on its mother.
Two other young pups laid together on the shore, while two older juveniles were playfully swimming and wrestling in the water.
I was amazed by the expansive array of life that we were witnessing, as we watched juveniles, adults, and every age in between living their lives.
The mother sea lion closed her eyes and relaxed when her pup was finished nursing, leaving him to alertly watch a lava lizard crawl across his mother’s back.
Adventures beneath the sea
Our last snorkel of the trip was extraordinary. We saw over 20 whitetip reef sharks and swam very closely with several of them.
It is amazing to me how far I progressed in just two weeks, both with diving under the water while snorkeling and with having so little fear of some of these animals, particularly sharks.
It is difficult to judge under the water, but I felt like I was within 10 feet of a few of the sharks I was swimming alongside, and that concept would have terrified me a couple of weeks prior.
Many of the sharks were sleeping beneath the rock ledges underwater. We were able to get incredibly close to a small group of them sleeping in a rock nook. It was captivating (and a little frightening) to look into their eyes so closely.
I was close enough to be able to get a good look at one of their teeth as it opened its mouth from time to time. Scary!
A massive eagle ray passed by me, and we swam together side by side. Its every movement was so elegant, gliding effortlessly through the water. I loved each second of getting to swim alongside this majestic creature, as awkward as I may have looked next to it.
It did not seem fearful in the least of me tagging along with it on its swim. Once again, I found myself being forced to part with this incredible creature, not because it swam away, but because of my inability to hold my breath for long enough.
Bartolomé Island & Pinnacle Rock
After another delicious and filling lunch, we navigated to Bartolomé Island for a second hike. A long trail up many steps led to beautiful panoramic views, eventually reaching one of the most recognizable landscape views in the Galápagos.
This iconic overlook on Bartolomé Island showcases striking terrain, with aqua blue water bordering a combination of golden, sandy beach, black lava rock, and red and green mossy-like plants.
This trek was more about scenery than our previous hikes, and the scenic views certainly did not leave us disappointed.
After the hike, we finished the day with a panga ride around Pinnacle Rock, a massive rock formation emerging out of the cobalt blue water and creating a picturesque structure that comes to a towering point at the top.
This led to my favorite encounter with penguins during the entire trip. We came across a group of 8 penguins, including both adults and juveniles, and we watched them interact on a rock and in the water for at least 15 minutes.
They were adorable. We spent a while enjoying their shenanigans, but I could have easily stayed there watching them in all of their cuteness for much longer.
Our final day on North Seymour Island
The last day of our cruise ended with an early morning visit to North Seymour Island. North Seymour Island is a nesting site for frigate birds and a well-known place for spotting blue-footed boobies.
Birds may be the highlight, but they are not the only wildlife you will see on this island. We were immediately greeted by golden land iguanas and sea lions when we stepped onto the island.
As part of their mating ritual, the male frigate birds expand the red flap below their necks into what looks like a large balloon. The males with the largest red necks appear the most attractive to the females.
The males would make this unique drumming noise with their necks as they tried to impress the female frigates and persuade them to mate. The male frigate birds who had successfully found a mate could be seen sitting side by side with their new lover.
Interestingly enough, frigate birds would keep their neck expanded as they flew overhead.
Frigate birds have been referred to as “pirates of the air.” Unable to dive into the water to catch fish, these birds can be seen harassing blue-footed boobies mid-flight in an effort to make them drop their catch. The frigate bird then swoops in and steals the food for itself.
The mating rituals of the frigate birds were seemingly successful as we saw countless baby frigate birds. Unsurprisingly, they were incredibly adorable, with lighter-colored feathers and an excessive amount of fluff.
The mating show of frigate birds was different than anything we’d seen before and fascinating to watch.
It was not the only entertaining mating ritual we got to see, however. If you are lucky, you can see the mating ritual of the blue-footed booby on this island—and we got lucky!
Blue-footed boobies could be seen doing their fantastical mating dance, with the males picking up their bright, blue webbed feet in a rhythmic motion and lifting their necks to the sky while keeping their wings and tail raised at the same time.
As we made our way back to the panga, we began saying goodbye to this magical place as we passed by several more sea lions.
We enjoyed this last bit of time appreciating these sea lions before going back to the boat and then disembarking for our final trip to the airport.
To this day, I still consider the Galápagos Islands one of the most incredible places on earth (that I have visited, anyway). Our 15-day cruise was only one small part of our bigger journey traveling around the world, but it was certainly not a small memory or experience by any measure.
If you’ve enjoyed our experience in the Galápagos, continue reading about our next adventure as we spend four days hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
In case you missed it, go back and read about the phenomenal day we spent visiting Santiago Island and Rábida Island.
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