Last night, we navigated to the northwestern side of Santa Cruz Island—it is amazing to see the differences between two spots that are on the same island. By just heading further north, we have come across a completely different scenario. The low lands of Santa Cruz are extremely dry in the north, as the winds that bring the humidity are stopped by the south side.
A cactus forest welcomed us, hiding a brackish water lagoon. As we got closer, we spotted a pink dot at the distance—a solitary flamingo was our first encounter! We continued our exploration, on the lookout for the dragons of the Islands—the Galapagos land iguanas.
Finally, between the Palo Santo trees, we found a male land iguana that was very focused on looking for some green vegetation to eat. He was so focused on finding food, that he ignored us completely, and he didn’t even seem realize that his search had brought him right through the middle of our group!
We continued our walk to a higher hill, to enjoy the breeze and the view, and then we returned to the ship to get ready for our snorkeling excursion. Guy Fawkes would be our next stop!
The deep waters around these islets are home of thousands of invertebrates that have covered the walls of this impressive underwater setting. A wall covered by corals, colorful sponges and sea stars was a refreshing way to close out the morning’s exploration.
In the afternoon, we navigated to Daphne Major Island. This islet has been a key element for the studies of evolution and Darwin finches, as we learned from a talk that was given during our circumnavigation of the islet. Sunset fell behind the islet, and with this landscape we ended another wonderful day on the enchanted islands.
