Santa Cruz and North Seymour Islands
Eagerly waiting to see the emblematic giant tortoises, our expedition started. After a short bus ride we got to the tortoise reserve up in the highlands of Santa Cruz. The reserve is an ever green forest due to a fine mist that is locally known as garua. This type of rain starts in the early June and usually keeps the area very green, but at the same time with that mystical feeling of walking through the clouds. These conditions are ideal for the growth of grass on which these giant reptiles forage. Once in the area, we had a walk around a fairly flat terrain where we could see many individuals as they slowly walked and grazed. This place seems to be a paradise for these animals, and it is now estimated that more than three thousand individuals are the current population on the Island of Santa Cruz. But it doesn’t matter what the population is, they still need external help from us, creating breeding programs for giant tortoises that are currently being carried out.
Later on in the morning we visited a typical formation known as a lava tube. We walked through it for about a quarter of a mile on our way to the restaurant where we had a delicious breakfast.
On the way to North Seymour we had a great show given by a humpback whale and its calf, as the mother decided to gives a nice show that involved spectacular breaching and big splashing of the long pectoral fins against the water. We also observed a couple of large manta rays surfing on the swells.
Late in the afternoon, a nice sunny day on the island of north Seymour gave us the view of several sea birds’ colonies. Our highlight was perhaps the colony of frigate birds that had chosen to nest right by the trail, showing their red gular pouches as they vibrate against the blowing wind, trying to attract mates.
This little island has so much to offer that it is almost hard for us all to leave. In our way back we found several sea lions and land iguanas that were constantly catching our attention. Loaded with great wildlife photos we headed back to the ship, enjoying a beautiful sunset on the horizon.
Eagerly waiting to see the emblematic giant tortoises, our expedition started. After a short bus ride we got to the tortoise reserve up in the highlands of Santa Cruz. The reserve is an ever green forest due to a fine mist that is locally known as garua. This type of rain starts in the early June and usually keeps the area very green, but at the same time with that mystical feeling of walking through the clouds. These conditions are ideal for the growth of grass on which these giant reptiles forage. Once in the area, we had a walk around a fairly flat terrain where we could see many individuals as they slowly walked and grazed. This place seems to be a paradise for these animals, and it is now estimated that more than three thousand individuals are the current population on the Island of Santa Cruz. But it doesn’t matter what the population is, they still need external help from us, creating breeding programs for giant tortoises that are currently being carried out.
Later on in the morning we visited a typical formation known as a lava tube. We walked through it for about a quarter of a mile on our way to the restaurant where we had a delicious breakfast.
On the way to North Seymour we had a great show given by a humpback whale and its calf, as the mother decided to gives a nice show that involved spectacular breaching and big splashing of the long pectoral fins against the water. We also observed a couple of large manta rays surfing on the swells.
Late in the afternoon, a nice sunny day on the island of north Seymour gave us the view of several sea birds’ colonies. Our highlight was perhaps the colony of frigate birds that had chosen to nest right by the trail, showing their red gular pouches as they vibrate against the blowing wind, trying to attract mates.
This little island has so much to offer that it is almost hard for us all to leave. In our way back we found several sea lions and land iguanas that were constantly catching our attention. Loaded with great wildlife photos we headed back to the ship, enjoying a beautiful sunset on the horizon.
