Volcan Chico is a young, active caldera reached from Puerto Villamil, in the Galapagos Islands. It is a road trip to the departure point, which has tourist facilities such as toilets and a park warden’s hut. Having hiked to the summit, the inversion layer created by the rising of warm air means that the caldera is obscured by cloud, and it is drizzling gently with rain. We have a wonderful view of the grey cloud lying over the caldera, and not much else.
The highlight of the journey up is a vermillion flycatcher, which stops to pose for some shots in the cloud forest. The difference in climate is striking – at sea level, the day is bright and sunny. The vegetation changes on the ascent from cactus, through to jungle, and finally cloud forest, all within 2000m of altitude. The weather at Puerto Villamil is therefore no indicator of the weather you may find up at the caldera.
This afternoon is another long navigation to Santa Cruz, where tomorrow three passengers will disembark, and we collect another 5 passengers. The Beagle will still be at half capacity, although with 7 passengers we will at least match the number of crew.
