Santa Cruz & North Seymour Islands

Early in the morning we headed to the highlands of Santa Cruz. This is a completely different view of what you might think of the Galápagos. Green and lush, that is the area where the giant tortoises are found! After a couple of miles of walk, we were rewarded by the amazing encounters. These prehistoric-looking animals were found grazing in the abundant green vegetation of the surroundings. After taking more than five hundred pictures of them (I am not kidding!), we walked through a lava tunnel. These impressive geological formations are found commonly all over the island of Santa Cruz; unfortunately, not all of them are accessible enough for walking throughout them. The one that we went through was nicely set up for us, since it was located right underneath the property of a local where we eat an outdoor breakfast right afterwards.

We had a great afternoon as well. The Galápagos is also known as the land of dragons, too. Reptiles rule here since the lack of water in the islands limited the population of endemic mammals. As we were walking along the trail at North Seymour, a land iguana was literally sitting in the middle of the trail waiting for us to find it. It did not move and inch in the beginning, but after staring at us for a while it decided to find another, quieter place to rest.

It was a great afternoon that we all enjoyed fully, and the sunset…incredible!