After breakfast we started our day with a dry landing on a small and colorful uplifted island. This is one of the jewels of the crown called South Plaza.
The place was flat, barren, and very arid, but covered with yellow land iguanas and red succulent Galapagos carpetweed all over. These reptiles have successfully colonized the islands millions of years ago and nowadays have made of South Plaza one of their natural habitats within the archipelago. In the case of the land iguanas, these yellow dragons are the major herbivores on this small uplifted island.
After an amazing hike, we returned back to the National Geographic Islander.
Our young explorers got ready to learn how to drive our Zodiacs, while others went swimming to cool off after a sunny hike. Soon enough, we had a talk on the human history of the islands, helping us understand the past of human stablishing in the islands.
After lunch, we dropped anchor and got ready to explore the visitor site on Santa Fe Island. While some went snorkeling, others went kayaking. We spotted many species of fish. Within the varieties were diamond sting rays, yellow-tailed razor surgeons, and spotted eagle rays, and we also spotted a couple of green Pacific sea turtles. Along the hike, the highlight was spotting the Santa Fe land iguana.
This species is only found on this island, nowhere else on the planet. Some cactus finches, mockingbirds, and many sea lions were part of the fauna of the visitor site. While walking, we also spotted a Galapagos snake, Galapagos hawk, and were told farewell by a large colony of Galapagos sea lions and a small group of white-tipped reef sharks along the shoreline.
What a wonderful day, spent on two islands full of life and with astonishing landscapes. It could not have been a better day to celebrate Christmas in the Galapagos. Merry Christmas everybody!
