Santa Cruz Island
Today was the day when everything was different. This was the day when we saw people who live in the Galápagos, and when we saw the island’s most emblematic animal roaming in the highlands: both these things occur on one island. Early in the morning we disembarked on the National Park dock under excellent conditions, neither too hot nor sunny, nor too rough in the bay. This bay was named “Academy Bay,” after the California Academy of Sciences’ ship that anchored here one hundred years ago. Like us, the scientists made expeditions into the highlands of this island to explore the lush vegetation and search for tortoises in the wild.
We landed on the dock and immediately began to walk among beautiful red mangroves. Here we observed a group of marine iguanas sunning themselves, basking in the early morning rays of the sun. We could imagine we saw a sort of satisfaction on their faces, as if they were enjoying the warmth of the sun like we do on a cool morning. It was almost as if they were eating something delicious. “It’s true!” somebody said. “They are eating sunlight!” And in a way it is true, because they are reptiles, and in a way the sunshine fuels their bodies as they warm up.
We continued walking to the giant tortoise corrals, visiting Diego first. He has been dubbed “super Diego” because he has contributed much more genetic material to the repopulation of Española than the other two adult male tortoises. Afterwards, we watched Lonesome George, the last survivor of a species of tortoise that for thousands of years roamed on Pinta Island. Now both Diego and George are reptilian celebrities and they share their corrals with several females.
Buses were waiting for us at the main town park, we drove in the highlands, and just before noon, descended into a lava tube about ¼ mile long. Located several meters under ground, this beautiful formation reminded us of the strength of nature; we imagined the extensive lava flow, millions of years ago, that created this incredible landscape.
We were hungry, but fortunately a delicious buffet lunch was waiting for us when we climbed out of the tube. Once we had recovered our energy, we walked beside a small fresh water pool, among the lush vegetation, where we enjoyed searching for giant tortoises in the wild. We saw several, of different sizes and different ages, and took many photographs.
We finished this special day with a walk in a Scalesia forest. These attractive, umbrella-like trees, that can be found no where else on earth, surround “Los Gemelos,” two huge sink holes. Here we spied the brilliant red vermillion flycatcher and several species of Darwin’s finches.
Today was the day when everything was different. This was the day when we saw people who live in the Galápagos, and when we saw the island’s most emblematic animal roaming in the highlands: both these things occur on one island. Early in the morning we disembarked on the National Park dock under excellent conditions, neither too hot nor sunny, nor too rough in the bay. This bay was named “Academy Bay,” after the California Academy of Sciences’ ship that anchored here one hundred years ago. Like us, the scientists made expeditions into the highlands of this island to explore the lush vegetation and search for tortoises in the wild.
We landed on the dock and immediately began to walk among beautiful red mangroves. Here we observed a group of marine iguanas sunning themselves, basking in the early morning rays of the sun. We could imagine we saw a sort of satisfaction on their faces, as if they were enjoying the warmth of the sun like we do on a cool morning. It was almost as if they were eating something delicious. “It’s true!” somebody said. “They are eating sunlight!” And in a way it is true, because they are reptiles, and in a way the sunshine fuels their bodies as they warm up.
We continued walking to the giant tortoise corrals, visiting Diego first. He has been dubbed “super Diego” because he has contributed much more genetic material to the repopulation of Española than the other two adult male tortoises. Afterwards, we watched Lonesome George, the last survivor of a species of tortoise that for thousands of years roamed on Pinta Island. Now both Diego and George are reptilian celebrities and they share their corrals with several females.
Buses were waiting for us at the main town park, we drove in the highlands, and just before noon, descended into a lava tube about ¼ mile long. Located several meters under ground, this beautiful formation reminded us of the strength of nature; we imagined the extensive lava flow, millions of years ago, that created this incredible landscape.
We were hungry, but fortunately a delicious buffet lunch was waiting for us when we climbed out of the tube. Once we had recovered our energy, we walked beside a small fresh water pool, among the lush vegetation, where we enjoyed searching for giant tortoises in the wild. We saw several, of different sizes and different ages, and took many photographs.
We finished this special day with a walk in a Scalesia forest. These attractive, umbrella-like trees, that can be found no where else on earth, surround “Los Gemelos,” two huge sink holes. Here we spied the brilliant red vermillion flycatcher and several species of Darwin’s finches.
