San Cristóbal is the fifth largest island of the Galápagos and the second most populated after Santa Cruz. I had great curiosity about this island because of the large number of sea lions.
THE TRIP TO SAN CRISTÓBAL
We departure from Santa Cruz early morning by boat and spent a full day in San Cristóbal.
The 2 hours boat ride was awful, I felt so sick… the ocean was really rough, still today just the idea gives me nightmares! All worth it in the end but I think if I ever go back I would definitely look in to going by a small plane between the main islands which is possible.
The trip cost us each 100$ and that included the boat trip, the snorkelling with all equipment and lunch. Again, like in all the other islands they are very worried about the introduction of foreign species to the ecosystem of the island so all bags are searched as you arrive to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.
As soon as I arrived I was already seeing the sea lions. They were resting on the rocks along the coast and it was lovely to see the sea lions families all together.
Discovering Kicker Rock
Kicker Rock or León Dormido is a vertical tuff cone almost 148 meters out of the ocean. This was the result of an explosion from the boiling lava with cold ocean water. With time and erosion the rock divided in two parts with a very narrow channel in between (where we got to snorkel) and people say that the rock looks like a sleeping lion.
Before we even got to dive in the cold waters (yes, very cold even with the swimsuit) I’d been able to see some gorgeous Blue-footed boobies birds sat on the cliff face of Kicker Rock.
It felt so unreal after I put my snorkel mask and went under the water as there was so much variety of sea life down there. There were all different colours of fish and even some friendly sea lions that came to swim with us – which was so awesome! They kept swimming around us getting quite close sometimes and there was even a baby one which was super cute.
I also got to see manta rays, loads of sea turtles swimming happily and one little shark.
After snorkelling, we got lunch in the boat (best tuna steak of my life!) and went to Playa Lobos beach where normally there a lot of sea lions resting but because it was a bit cold that day they were not there.
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Have you ever visited the Galápagos Islands? I would love to hear your experiences!
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Wow, now you did it.
I’ll be flying to Equador in a week (12. May) and of course I’m including Galapagos to the trip. This here just made me get even more exited about these Islands.
Looking up the prices for scuba diving there I guess I’ll just get the cheapest accommodation & food and spend all my cash on dives. Seeing all the photos you’ve taken, I don’t think someone is able to see this much marine wildlife in one place elsewhere…
Author
Hi Mario,
Yes, Galapagos is overall expensive but worth it. There is no other place in the world like it. The dives are about $100 normally and there are a lot of companies so try to find the best ones. They say the best place to dive is in San Cristobal! Good luck, let me know how it went.
Amalia