Cerro Dragon and Daphne Major
Today we began our day by exploring Cerro Dragon on the north western corner of Santa Cruz Island; there we looked for Galápagos land iguanas, as well as land and lagoon birds. We had a nice sunny morning and the colors were outstanding, especially for taking pictures. We encountered land iguanas hiding from the sun under some bushes. Soon the rainy season will start and iguanas have begun to get ready to mate, as a consequence males are slowly becoming a bright yellow color. On the other hand females begin to explore different territories looking for the best mate. Their population has a better chance of thriving if the conditions are right. Soon the rain will arrive and bring food for every living organism that depends on it.
After our walk we returned to the ship to change into our snorkeling gear. We went to Guy Fawkes; there we snorkeled with some sea lions and lots of fish, the colors of the steep walls were incredible as many marine invertebrates have colonized it.
As we left Guy Fawkes, we began our quest for marine mammals and birds. We found bottle-nosed dolphins that accompanied us for a while. We also saw the endemic Galápagos petrel as well as a waved albatross, and several shearwaters fishing around our ship. Later in the afternoon we sailed around Daphne Major where we observed manta rays feeding, blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies and sea lions.
After a magnificent day like this we are keen to start another great adventure on Bartolomé Island.
