Santa Cruz Island
Anyone who has ever seen photos or video of the Galápagos Archipelago can testify to the fact that the backdrop to these is usually barren and arid, featuring either bare lava flows or desert-adapted vegetation such as cacti, thorn bushes and bare-limbed, drought-deciduous trees. Although situated in the heart of the tropics, the Galápagos are bathed by surprisingly cool waters and as the archipelago is distant from other landmasses, the climate here is largely determined by these ocean currents. These waters cool off the overlying air masses, which as a consequence, are heavy and do not rise. Where these cooler heavier air masses meet the warmer air above, heated by the tropical sun, an inversion layer is created that traps and concentrates the moisture evaporated from the sea within it, between 900 and 1800 feet above sea level. For this reason the lowland areas, which are where we spend most of our time, remain dry yet relatively cool (at least from June to November).
There is another side to the Galápagos, however, which is rarely glimpsed except on a trip to the highlands of the taller islands, the beautiful Santa Cruz in particular. A cursory look at today’s picture would lead one to believe it is anywhere but the Galápagos: thick vegetation laden with epiphytes, amongst which we can spot mosses, liverworts, ferns, orchids, bromeliads, pipers and more. Obviously an ecosystem exposed to great amounts of moisture, such as heavy mists or rains… Is this really the Galápagos? On a closer look, we are drawn to the strange shapes of the dwarfish trees: these are actually members of the sunflower and daisy family, members of which normally only occur as small shrubs or bushes. Here they have evolved to become giants, to fill in a previously empty ecological niche, a trait very characteristic of many organisms found on oceanic islands; this species of the endemic genus Scalesia is not just endemic to the Galápagos but to the island of Santa Cruz itself. Among the branches of this elfin forest flit small olive green, grey or black birds – Darwin’s finches: tree finches, vegetarian finches, woodpecker finches; species not found in the lowlands. So yes, we are definitely in the Galápagos, yet have discovered a very different environment to that explored during the rest of the week.
Not only does Santa Cruz stand out for its cloud forests and green highlands, but also for its healthy and easily-accessible population of tortoises in the wild and the bustling port town that is home to the Charles Darwin Research Station.
After a thoroughly fulfilling day, we returned to the Islander for cocktails and to listen to a presentation on conservation work in the archipelago by a special guest scientist – it is thanks to hard work by dedicated people such as Jill Keys that our experience this week will be such an unforgettable one.
Anyone who has ever seen photos or video of the Galápagos Archipelago can testify to the fact that the backdrop to these is usually barren and arid, featuring either bare lava flows or desert-adapted vegetation such as cacti, thorn bushes and bare-limbed, drought-deciduous trees. Although situated in the heart of the tropics, the Galápagos are bathed by surprisingly cool waters and as the archipelago is distant from other landmasses, the climate here is largely determined by these ocean currents. These waters cool off the overlying air masses, which as a consequence, are heavy and do not rise. Where these cooler heavier air masses meet the warmer air above, heated by the tropical sun, an inversion layer is created that traps and concentrates the moisture evaporated from the sea within it, between 900 and 1800 feet above sea level. For this reason the lowland areas, which are where we spend most of our time, remain dry yet relatively cool (at least from June to November).
There is another side to the Galápagos, however, which is rarely glimpsed except on a trip to the highlands of the taller islands, the beautiful Santa Cruz in particular. A cursory look at today’s picture would lead one to believe it is anywhere but the Galápagos: thick vegetation laden with epiphytes, amongst which we can spot mosses, liverworts, ferns, orchids, bromeliads, pipers and more. Obviously an ecosystem exposed to great amounts of moisture, such as heavy mists or rains… Is this really the Galápagos? On a closer look, we are drawn to the strange shapes of the dwarfish trees: these are actually members of the sunflower and daisy family, members of which normally only occur as small shrubs or bushes. Here they have evolved to become giants, to fill in a previously empty ecological niche, a trait very characteristic of many organisms found on oceanic islands; this species of the endemic genus Scalesia is not just endemic to the Galápagos but to the island of Santa Cruz itself. Among the branches of this elfin forest flit small olive green, grey or black birds – Darwin’s finches: tree finches, vegetarian finches, woodpecker finches; species not found in the lowlands. So yes, we are definitely in the Galápagos, yet have discovered a very different environment to that explored during the rest of the week.
Not only does Santa Cruz stand out for its cloud forests and green highlands, but also for its healthy and easily-accessible population of tortoises in the wild and the bustling port town that is home to the Charles Darwin Research Station.
After a thoroughly fulfilling day, we returned to the Islander for cocktails and to listen to a presentation on conservation work in the archipelago by a special guest scientist – it is thanks to hard work by dedicated people such as Jill Keys that our experience this week will be such an unforgettable one.
