San Cristobal Highlands

Pick-up at your hotel. We get in to our cars, and start the drive up to the San Cristobal Highlands, our driver is also our guide. The San Cristobal Highlands reach a maximum altitude of 730 meters and have a cooler temperature than Puerto Baquerizo Moreno by the bay. Right in the heart of the highlands, we find El Junco, the only large freshwater lake among all the Galapagos Islands. We walk to the crater edge of this lake and can observe frigate birds performing aerial acrobatics to rinse the salt out of their wings. It sometimes gets cloudy and foggy over the lake, so a little mysterious atmosphere descends over the lake. We then continue to Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado, a center for "Geochelone chatamensis", the island's endemic tortoise, where we can see tortoises in their natural environment. We then head further down to the island's southwest coast and reach Puerto Chino Beach, an isolated bay with one of San Cristobal's most beautiful beaches. On this beach we can swim and can see the blue-footed sole and sea lions. After a nice day we return to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.