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San Cristobal Island Trip Report

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This article is part of my Galapagos Islands Trip Overview which consists of:

Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about San Cristobal, and the main city Puerto Baquerizo Moren (PBM).

“San Cristóbal Island is the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago, as well as one of the oldest geologically.”

“Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is the capital of Galápagos Province, Ecuador. It was founded by General Villamil Playas in the mid-19th century, and takes its name from President Alfredo Baquerizo (1859–1951). Today, fishing is the main activity of the locals, but tourism is on the increase along the waterfront with numerous hotels and shops.”

As you might guess from that description, San Cristobal is the second most developed island out of the three main inhabited islands. As such, there are plenty of options for lodging and food. The problem is, I don’t remember anything about them … I went to San Cristobal in 2021 but didn’t return there in 2024 and wasn’t able to jog my memory about where we stayed and what restaurants we had enjoyed. You’ll just have to go and figure it out for yourself! What I do remember though, were the activities.

ACTIVITIES

Free Activities

  • San Cristobal Visitor’s Center (2021) (free) This visitor’s center (called “interpretation center” in Spanish) was so surprisingly good! It gave a fascinating overview of the Galapagos from a variety of perspectives (human history, geologic history, natural history, etc.) We spent several hours here working our way through the very well put together and informative exhibits. I would highly recommend making time to go here.
  • Downtown Waterfront (2021) (free) The waterfront in downtown PBM was a feast of animal experiences! We were there in November and there were SO MANY sea lions, and many of them with small pups. This is also the spot where I remember seeing the highest concentration of Sally Lightfoot Crabs. I had a lot of easily accessible photography fun down here!

Sally Lightfoot Crabs and sea lion pups captured from the downtown PBM pier, 2021.

Full On Activities

  • Kicker Rock (2021) ($?) The highlight of our time in San Cristobal was the full-day Kicker Rock (called Leon Dormido – Sleeping Lion – in Spanish). It was an absolutely stunning day of snorkeling, food, and sea creature experiences! While we saw plenty of incredible sea creatures, the experience that stuck with me the most was how different the rock appeared over- and underwater. Overwater, it was just a big, bird-poop-stained rock. Underwater, it was a bustling and colorful coral ecosystem! Absolutely gorgeous!
    Sorry, I don’t remember how much we paid for it.

Collection of overwater and underwater shots of Kicker Rock/Leon Dormido, 2021.

This brings to an end my thoughts on and experiences in San Cristobal. From here, you can return to the Galapagos Islands Trip Report article.

Return to the main article.

Published by joelwitwer

Published