Santa Cruz Island
This morning we anchored in Academy Bay, this bay is located in the southern realm of Santa Cruz Island and has the largest human population in the archipelago. Santa Cruz Island rises up to 2.500 feet and looks very green thanks to the recent rains. Today we were looking for Galápagos giant tortoises and we succeeded in our goal. Our first encounter with these creatures was at the Charles Darwin Center, there we learnt about the conservation programs carried out by both the National Park Galápagos and the Research Center. We found some males giant tortoises having a little territorial dispute; this was quickly settled when one of them abandoned the territory of the other male.
One of the most interesting animals of Galápagos are the land iguanas; at this time of the year they are displaying bright yellow and orange colors. This color change is for no other purpose but to look more attractive and it certainly brought the attention of a female in a corral; we could observe the female land iguana walking and observing her male neighbor closely. At the breeding center tortoises and iguanas have their own programs, this has proven to be significantly effective in increasing their otherwise declining populations in the wild.
During the afternoon we headed to the highlands where we looked for wild giant tortoises, we encounter several juveniles and a few adults feeding on the grasses and fruits that can be found in abundance in the moist highlands. We walked through bushes and were surrounded by large tall trees like the Spanish cedar, avocado trees, papayas, and several others that were brought by men when the island was first colonized.
We also got the chance to visit one of the most interesting geological formations of the Galápagos which are the pit craters or sink holes. It is not just the beauty of the landscapes but also the peace one can find while walking in to the scalesia forest that makes this island so special to explore.
