The ship cruised through the night from the commercial island Santa Cruz to the quaint uninhabited island of Sombrero Chino. The island is appropriately named due its shape, like a sombrero. It’s a fairly new island, only 120 years old.  There rocks are a deep black in colour which signifies it’s newness. The early risers were on deck to catch the sunrise. After a hearty breakfast we cruised alongside of the island to view the plant and bird life and to our delight we spotted one lonely penguin. He didn’t stay in sight long enough to get a photo. There are sea lions and  a Galapagos Heron.

We enjoyed an early morning hike to take in the spectacular scenery. We spotted a mother sea lion nursing her pup, Sally Light Foot crabs, iguanas, colourful lizards and young sea lions. Unfortunately these babies look very week. They are patiently waiting for their mothers to return to feed them. Wehope and pray they come back soon. The path is uneven so you must watch your step. Unfortunately Marlene stumbled and scraped her leg on the rock.  Juan quickly came to the rescue, cleaned off her scrape then dressed and bandaged her leg.  One can’t be careful enough with these mishaps.  It’s very important to carefully clean the wound to avoid bacteria from getting into the blood stream.

The scenery on the other side of the island is quite beautiful. The waves crash on the rocks sending the crabs and us scurrying to keep dry. The view of the surrounding island and sea is magnificent. There are still many lava tube formations and Juan found a large piece of coral that had been washed up onto the island. After our hike we stripped down to our bathing suits and gladly entered the warm clear water from the pristine white beach. The water is so clear you can see the fishing swimming around your legs. It’s another hot day so a dip in the sea is very refreshing.

We headed back to the ship for snacks and refreshments then changed into our wetsuits for a snorkelling excursion. The captain let some of the crew join us for some fun in the water. The visibility is amazing! So far this is the best snorkel sight  on the trip.  The reef is teaming with fish of all shapes, sizes and colour. We even spotted a white tip shark and a manta ray hiding under an overhang. There was a cute puffer fish, black and yellow angel fish and large schools of fish swimming around us.  No one wanted to get out of the water. The swimming and viewing was exceptional.  We headed back to the ship just in time for a well deserved lunch.

This afternoon Juan showed us an interesting movie about Evolution and the effects of El Nina and El Nino.  Currently El Nino is affecting the Galapagos, to our advantage the waters are warmer and there is little rain in spite of this being rainy season.  Our 4:30pm hike is on Isla Santiago, a young 120 year old lava island. As we stepped off the beach we couldn’t believe our eyes. It was like stepping onto the moon,.  Black lava rock layered over time by the flow of lava.  There are red and green streaks of iron in the rock, stunning swirly lava formations and lava tubes. This island is very different from the others we have visited. There’s very little plant or animal life. The surface is very uneven which requires quite a bit of climbing and stepping up and down.  Juan leads us to a smooth area and has us all lie down on the rock. He claims the young lava is filled with energy that charges the body.  we all laid down to test it out. The ladies decided to join hands and to Juan s delight, they broke out in song.  We sang Oh Canada, out of tune and with lots of laughs.  We are now dubbed the Crazy Canucks. We headed back to the ship for a little R & R before dinner. A few ladies took a refreshing swim off the boat. The water is glorious!