Galápagos: Sombrero Chino
A typical day on the boat went something like this:
On this particular day, our first stop was at Sombrero Chino (“China hat” in English), so named because the old remains of the volcanic cone taper upward and stop at a plateau, looking very similar to the shape of a …Chinese hat.
This is one of the best places in the Galápagos to see marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus). There are innumerable individuals on this particular island (I’m sure someone has tried to numerate it, but it’s not easy enough to find!). The landscape is that of a barren, hot, lava field. Marine iguanas eat mainly underwater plant life. They can survive underwater for longer than other iguanas — up to an hour! They can dive 15 or so feet to the bottom and then using their claws to cling to the rocks while they eat algae. They take in a lot of sea water when they swim. They have a clever adaptation to deal with the excess salt - they store it in a special sac behind their sinuses and then sneeze out the salt, expelling it from their system. It’s not uncommon to see a lot of marine iguanas lazing around together, casually blowing salt water out of their noses. Here’s a link to an excellent video of the sneezing: https://youtu.be/6G6ZL0fbLHQ.
Below is my own video of a colony of sun-basking iguanas.
The top of the sombrero in the background, Paola in the foreground.
Lava fields and “hornitos” (little ovens) cover the landscape.
Far in the background, you can see a mountain peak tall enough to create its own weather:
Looking out from Sombrero Chino over to Isla Santa Fe.
Do you spy the penguin??!!
And, finally, a few more snorkeling videos of white-tipped reef sharks and swimming penguins!
Next up: Cerro Dragon
