The Sleeping Lion (or Kicker's Rock in English) is an uninhabited islet a few kilometers from the San Cristóbal archipelago, in the Galapagos Islands National Park (Ecuador). It is a totally protected place where it is forbidden to moor, sleep or carry out any activity, only diving and going around the rock is allowed.
It is a very characteristic rock formation of volcanic origin formed by two large islets that have been separated by the erosion of the sea, each of them reaches more than 100 meters above the sea and another 100 below the sea. Two spectacular vertical walls on each rock and a narrow channel in the middle through which the sea water circulates.
This peculiar arrangement of the island has made it one of the best diving spots in the Galapagos Islands and in the world. Around Kicker's Rock inhabit all kinds of corals and marine species such as turtles, hammerhead sharks, blue shark, sea lions, ...
How to get to León Dormido?
Being an island and being protected by the law of national parks of Ecuador, can only be reached by sea. To access Galapagos it must be done by plane from the continent, the vast majority of flights depart from Ecuador and specifically Guayaquil, it is also possible to reach the paradisiacal islands from Central America. At each entrance and exit of an island they do a small check to check that you are not entering or carrying anything that could hinder the unique ecosystem of the park.
The easiest thing is starting from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, the most important town of San Cristóbal Island. In less than two hours the islet is reached. Isla San Cristóbal can be reached by sea from Santa Cruz (2 to 3 hours) or by plane from the mainland, it is one of the few islands that has an airport.
Another option is from the capital of Galapagos, Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz.. In this case it would be a journey of about 4 hours. On the other hand, you can hire a private boat for a few days and go exploring the most important islands of the national park including a dive here.
Whatever the port of origin, it is mandatory to go with a pleasure boat with special permission from the local and Ecuadorian government, that is, approaching to dive in the Sleeping Lion requires hiring an agency or private company with permits.
The approximate price per person from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is about $ 80 and includes a full day route stopping at virgin beaches (mainly Playa del Maglesito), diving and snorkeling equipment and the dive itself of about 2 hours at Kicker's Rock. I do not know the price from Puerto Ayora. The price to rent boats for a week or several days is very high, although touring the Galapagos Islands on your own is not cheap either. In my case, I went through it on my own and rented the excursion from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.
What to do and what to see in Ayer's Rock?
As we get closer to León Dormido, we already see that it is a magical, spectacular place, surely one of the most beautiful in the whole country. The boats always they go around the island to see the unique morphological characteristics of its rocks and the birds that inhabit it. The slope of its walls is so straight and the depth so high that you can get very close to the island to contemplate all the animal species of the islet (many of them are only seen in the Galapagos). What can be seen here is very different from what we can see in the Mediterranean, much more variety and virgin.
The main attraction is obviously under the sea, diving or snorkeling. If the waves and the weather allow it, you can dive through the narrow channel. At this point in the ocean the sea currents are strong, so I recommend you to wear wetsuits whether you are diving or snorkeling, the sea temperature is generally high throughout the year but it is better to wear suits.
In my case, before jumping into the water I saw dozens of sea lions swimming near the boatIt gave me some impression and fear but anyway, it was going to be a unique experience, so I jumped into the water without thinking about it.
In the water, I put on my goggles, looked down and surprise! A shark, a blue shark. He had never done scuba diving, much less had he swam with sharks. In Spain they close entire beaches when a tintorera approaches the beach, here we would go swimming with them as if nothing had happened, yes, at a certain distance just in case.
At the beginning we dive through the channel that separates the two rocks, looking down sharks were seen, all kinds of fish and some sea lion. At the end of this channel we go to the large islet to contemplate the coral and fish that live near it, all of exotic colors. Sea lions playing with us at all times, very close to the group.
We went around the entire islet to enjoy the colors of the stone, the fish and the coral, at all times they could be seen turtles, rays and lions. We no longer saw the sharks, as we were told they almost always move near the channel.
2 in total diving and snorkeling. Simply incredible, an experience that I recommend if you ever travel to Ecuador and the Galapagos.
I think it is the best destination to enjoy or learn to dive, everything you see is of incalculable beauty, I am sure you would not be disappointed.