Santa Cruz and North Seymour Island
It’s been a fantastic beginning for our day; as soon as we stepped out of the ship, we observed the panoramic view of Puerto Ayora in the near distance. This city was our getaway to visit the highlands of the Santa Cruz, one of the largest giant tortoise reserves of the archipelago. After a relatively short bus ride, we ended up at el Chato, which is one of the giant tortoise’s main migratory routes within this island. The island of Santa Cruz holds a very healthy population of giant tortoises from the variety Geochelone elephantophus porteri, one of the eleven survivor’s subspecies of the endemic land tortoises. Later on, after our appetite for giant tortoises was satisfied, we went through an impressive geological formation known as a lava tunnel. Volcanic islands such as Hawaii and Galápagos have very similar geological formations; one of the many things that they share in common is the existence of tunnels formed when the lava flowed and its crust solidified, insulating the hot core. When the lava flow stopped its motion, it leaves behind a tube which is often circular-shaped, forming vortex shapes that are up to 30 feet or more in the diameter and running at times for several miles. Once we finished the walk through the lava tunnel we then had the great breakfast that we deserved!
We left the highland behind to visit Puerto Ayora and to enjoy a wonderful time shopping for endemic souvenirs. Shortly after our arrival back to the ship, the Captain took us off the bay and headed north for our next stop. North Seymour Island is one of those magical places in Galápagos where one can find an incredible array of species. There were a lot of them flying around us, such as the female frigate bird looking for their perfect matches. The males were instead on the bushes, puffing up their gular pouches to attract the females above. The blue footed boobies were also something that turned our heads around as they were performing their famous dancing. As we strolled back by the beach we encountered friendly sea lions lying lazily on the white-organic coastal zone. We decided to call it a day and returned to the ship with fantastic colored skies on our backs, as the sun set in the horizon.
It’s been a fantastic beginning for our day; as soon as we stepped out of the ship, we observed the panoramic view of Puerto Ayora in the near distance. This city was our getaway to visit the highlands of the Santa Cruz, one of the largest giant tortoise reserves of the archipelago. After a relatively short bus ride, we ended up at el Chato, which is one of the giant tortoise’s main migratory routes within this island. The island of Santa Cruz holds a very healthy population of giant tortoises from the variety Geochelone elephantophus porteri, one of the eleven survivor’s subspecies of the endemic land tortoises. Later on, after our appetite for giant tortoises was satisfied, we went through an impressive geological formation known as a lava tunnel. Volcanic islands such as Hawaii and Galápagos have very similar geological formations; one of the many things that they share in common is the existence of tunnels formed when the lava flowed and its crust solidified, insulating the hot core. When the lava flow stopped its motion, it leaves behind a tube which is often circular-shaped, forming vortex shapes that are up to 30 feet or more in the diameter and running at times for several miles. Once we finished the walk through the lava tunnel we then had the great breakfast that we deserved!
We left the highland behind to visit Puerto Ayora and to enjoy a wonderful time shopping for endemic souvenirs. Shortly after our arrival back to the ship, the Captain took us off the bay and headed north for our next stop. North Seymour Island is one of those magical places in Galápagos where one can find an incredible array of species. There were a lot of them flying around us, such as the female frigate bird looking for their perfect matches. The males were instead on the bushes, puffing up their gular pouches to attract the females above. The blue footed boobies were also something that turned our heads around as they were performing their famous dancing. As we strolled back by the beach we encountered friendly sea lions lying lazily on the white-organic coastal zone. We decided to call it a day and returned to the ship with fantastic colored skies on our backs, as the sun set in the horizon.
