South Plaza Island and Santa Fé
The weather this morning was interesting, as it should be in a “transition” month such as May. That’s why I love it—one doesn’t know really what to expect.
Overhead was a thin layer of clouds, but all around on the horizon were darker, slightly more ominous-looking clouds. As it turned out, we had nothing to worry about except for a brief sprinkling of refreshing mist halfway through our visit on shore.
South Plaza is an up-lifted slab of basaltic lava that came off the volcano of Santa Cruz over a million years ago. Now it is tilted down to the north, the southern bluff facing into the southeast trade winds. This provides an up-lift that seabirds adore. Swallow-tailed gulls, the occasional Nazca and blue-footed booby, Galápagos shearwaters by the hundreds; all live along the bluff or nest on the upper edge.
However our expedition here was to search out the endemic land iguanas of Galápagos. On this little island lives a large population, so almost immediately on arrival we could see these yellow/brown/orange-ish reptiles hanging out under prickly pear cacti. In turn, the cacti themselves are seemingly over-loaded with fruit just ready to fall—which is exactly what the iguanas are hoping for. They are looking plump, and will get plumper when the fruit is ripe. The warm, wet season this year has been generous to the terrestrial inhabitants of Galápagos; the rains have allowed for the native plants to flower and produce an abundance of seeds. For the moment, everyone on land is doing just fine.
Back on board, it was time to get into the water ourselves. Swimming from the boarding platform and diving and jumping from the ship had enthusiastic participants…some daredevils from the bridge deck no less!
By lunchtime, we were steaming south to Santa Fe Island where a kayaking opportunity and deep-water snorkeling would come first. By 2:45pm we had people in kayaks and people in the water, both groups exploring the beautiful and calm bay provided by a peninsula of rock. By 4:00pm we had everyone back on board getting ready for part II. The exercise (“long”) hikers sped off up a rocky gully which rarely carries water, then climbs an escarpment with steep drop-offs until you reach the top—and a spectacular view. An adult Galápagos hawk hovered above the group when they reached the highest point; Galápagos mockingbirds chuckled, the land iguanas—were silent. These iguanas are unique to the island of Santa Fe. It is the only island in the archipelago to harbor an entirely separate species of land iguana, and they are noticeably different. Conolophus pallidus—the pale iguana, lives up to its name.
The short hiking group also saw these reptiles, but time to dawdle a bit. This time advantage came to fruition when we found a Galápagos racer—snake—headed for an endemic prickly pear cactus tree. Over the next twenty minutes we watched the snake climb the cactus (very carefully), in order to check out a Darwin’s finch nest found at the very, very top. Unfortunately for the snake, the nest was old and uninhabited. For us, however, it was fascinating watching the climb between the thorns.
The English name for the island of Santa Fe is Barrington, and the name of the endemic prickly pear cactus is Opuntia barringtonensis…huge, thick and tree-shaped, trunk and all.
It was already getting dark by the time we started to head back. The sea lions on the beach hadn’t changed position, as far as we could see; pelicans and boobies were still flying overhead; but the light was as rosy as our newly-made memories of this day.
