On our last day of the expedition, we visited one of the oldest islands of the archipelago, San Cristobal. First up was Punta Pitt, an eroded tuff cone on the northern part of the island. We walked to the top of a plateau on an ash cone, passing through a greenish beach, which gets its color from a volcanic mineral called olivine. Along the shoreline are trees that form nesting grounds for red-footed boobies, the tree-dwelling species found on only a few spots in the archipelago. This morning we also visited Pitt Islet, a small formation just off Punta Pitt, where many sea birds nest and fish around its windy cliffs.
In the afternoon we visited Cerro Brujo, which has some of the softest sand in the world due to its age. For four million years, the elements have weathered the island’s tuff cones into beautiful beaches. We enjoyed this beautiful afternoon by swimming and playing with sea lions, who posed for us with famous Kicker Rock and a mesmerizing sunset as the backdrop.
