- Another paradisiacal snorkeling at Isla Sombrero Chino
- Observe five white tip reef sharks, over 10 stingrays, a Galapagos penguin, sea lions and the usual fish
- Continue to Black Turtle Cove to see green turtles
We make the usual muesli with fruit and yoghurt, an omelette and toast in the stomach and ready to land on the barren Isla Sombrero chinos. Volcanic eruptions, some even more recently, have significantly shaped the landscape. Lying between the sharp black basalt from the cooled lava flows paradisiacal stretches of beach. Unfortunately, they don't really come into their own in the morning drizzle. Fortunately, the water temperature is always ideally warm, so that with a little exercise you don't freeze over a long period of time.
As soon as I am in the water, I discover another one passing by between the boulders White tip reef shark. A little later the next conspecific can be made out at a somewhat greater distance. In addition, the variety of fish even surpasses what has been seen so far! The strong current makes it pretty difficult to get ahead, so Niki is picked up by the Zodiac and can start again further over there.
They last for a while various fish as an attraction, whether big or small, long or short, thick or thin, with colorful patterns or plain colors, alone or in a swarm. We continue to discover an eel disguised as a sea serpent, a lonely one Sea lions as well as a rapid one Penguin «flying past». Then follow numerous stingrays on the deeper sandy bottom. As I slowly start the long way back to the starting point, I discover two more whitetip reef sharks. The two specimens, which are two meters long, lie lazily on the ground. Another conspecific is clearly more active and is therefore difficult to follow.
When I get to the beach there is just one curious sea lion on the way near the shore. While we are posing for the group photo, a pelican comes flying in and lands between us. The first group is on the way back to Darwin with the Zodiac when a young, extremely playful sea lion appears on the beach and wants to play with us.
After this further magical place there is lunch. We continue our cruise towards Black Turtle Cove. While the first group is on the tour, the rest of us enjoy the sunny weather on deck. We see the dorsal fin of a white tip reef shark right next to the ship, which protrudes through the water surface.
Then we go to the von Mangrove covered bay. The unique place serves the Green turtle as a recreation and retreat area. After we got some Blue-footed booby and Brown pelicans have observed, you go through a short natural tunnel to a lagoon. Here we also meet two young ones swimming on the surface of the water Eagle rays. The engine is switched off and now it is time to hold out. The first turtle does not take long to look for swims right past the boat. More sea turtles can be seen, some even lift their heads a few meters from our boat to breathe. It is important to be extremely quiet so as not to disturb the frightened animals. Yes, even after the trigger sound of my camera, one of the animals is so frightened that it immediately submerges again. After half an hour and a few dozen sightings, we head back to Darwin.
There is an extensive meal there for the last time, where there is always a lot of talk. We're really here on one great group of like minded people from all over the world met. Then we discover drawn to the light of the ship Dozens of baby turtles paddle in the sea. After packing our things, we go for another round with Tobi and Nina.
