Galapagos Dragon Hill and China Hat

Overnight we motored from Puerto Ayora to Dragon Hill which is on the north west side of Santa Cruz. The anchor chain and locker was so loud and then then waves were so rocky I was up for a couple hours until the seas flattened and I fell back asleep.

We had early itinerary for hiking dragon hill. The national Park spreads the cruise boats around so no place is severely impacted by tourists. Our time slot was 730 am. First we had a nice breakfast of fruit and baked breads and then scrambled eggs, ham, sausage, bacon, and pancakes. It was too much food. The service on the boat has been really wonderful. And they have been mindful of adhering to dietary restrictions.

We took the dinghy to Santa Cruz and hiked around a small hill pocketed with large nesting holes of the land iguanas. They are yellow and do not swim but look very similar to the marine iguanas. These arrived after the marine iguanas' ancestors and there was already vegetation on the island so they did not have to evolve to swim and dive.

We also saw flamingos feeding on tiny shrimp in the brackish water. The water on Santa rosa comes from brackish water and it is not potable.

We went back to the boat and apparently had to move to China Hat which is next to Santiago Island because the national Park told us to. 

We had some down time and we watched the marine life and chatted with the other guests. A seahorse dropped on the ship from a frigate and it was still alive. The guide put it in a pitcher of sea water and later released it.

Frigates followed us and even landed on the dinghy. We stopped next to China Hat Island and had lunch: cauliflower soup, sweet and sour chicken and fries rice, and fruit cocktail. 

We got fitted with snorkeling gear which the ship provided including wet suits and set off for our snorkel along Santiago Island. We saw white tipped shark, sting ray, starfish, and even Galapagos penguins. 

Ellie jumped in and then got out. Dd dipped his feet. Christine jumped in and swam for an hour. It was an amazing snorkel. The fish were not afraid of us. 

We went back to the boat and changed and showered and went back into the dinghy to get to China hat island for a hike. There were sea lions nursing. The island is relatively new and is covered with basalt lava tubes which the sea lions used as shelter.

Back to the ship we watched the sunset and then had our briefing for tomorrow and a small cocktail making class for the drink Monserrat. It has muddled strawberries, pisco half oz, rum 2 oz, lime juice 2 oz, a cup of ice and a splash or orange juice with mint leaf.

Dinner was chicken tenders for the kids, and I had chicken cordon Bleu which was not great so I ate the chicken fingers. Christine had a fish which was good.