Early this morning we reached the two small islands of South and North Plazas, lying off the eastern coast of Santa Cruz Island. Both islands were formed as a result of geological uplift which took place perhaps more than a million years ago. Only South Plaza Island is open to visitors as it holds a good population of endemic Galapagos land iguanas, a cactus forest, and an impressive cliff, which is a favorite nesting site for swallow-tailed gulls, red-billed tropicbirds and Galapagos shearwaters. South Plaza Island is also home to one of the archipelago’s largest colonies of Galapagos sea lions. This morning we saw many females with their young babies and a couple of big males patrolling the waters and defending their territories.
Land iguanas were everywhere, some eating the cactus paths, others just warming up. The population from South Plaza belongs to one of the three endemic species on land iguanas. In some areas of Galapagos, these reptiles have been almost wiped out by feral dogs in the past; however, a hugely successful captive and semi-captive breeding program run by the CDF and GNPS has allowed these endangered populations to recover.
After visiting Plazas, our ship sailed south to reach Santa Fé Island where another species of land iguanas is found. At one time, Santa Fé Island was over-run with goats. After a successfully eradication program, the national park, with the support of many companies like Lindblad Expeditions, were able to re-store the ecosystem of Santa Fe as well as other areas. Never before in Galapagos were successful eradication programs carried out.
In the afternoon, our guests explored the beautiful bay of Santa Fe, kayaking and deep-water snorkeling, and later on, set foot on one of the beaches to explore the inland trails. We were in search of the unique endemic species of land iguanas, snakes, Darwin finches, Galapagos doves, Galapagos mockingbirds, and the always impressive Galapagos hawks, which today were having a feast eating the placenta of sea lions, common behavior at this time of the year were pups are born.
