Plaza and Santa Fe Islands
This morning dawned sunny and breezy. We had anchored before sunrise off the two uplifted Plaza Islands and after breakfast we all boarded our fleet of Zodiacs for a cruise along the protected inner shores of both North and South Plaza. North Plaza has a cliff where sea birds were nesting and we motored slowly by, taking photos of the elegant swallow-tailed gulls, and the swooping shearwaters and frigate birds soared along the coast always on the lookout for a meal.
Sea lions were sleeping among the lava boulders and big bulls were patrolling along the land water interface alert for other bulls who might try to sneak into their territories. We watched a striated heron stalk and catch a Sally lightfoot crab, shake and break it until all the feet had fallen off and then – with a bit of a struggle – swallow the body. Later we watched a sea lion tearing a large fish into small pieces by smashing it back and forth in the water; frigates and lava gulls quickly flew in to grab for scraps and a large Galápagos shark was also quickly attracted by the fish blood in the water and all the ruckus.
We returned to the ship and had iced tea and cookies, and then I invited everyone to join me in the lounge for a presentation about my own experiences doing research on tortoises and introduced donkeys for my PhD many years ago. A delicious Peruvian buffet lunch followed, and our much appreciated siesta. Meanwhile Captain Pablo had our boson drop anchor off of Santa Fe Island.
We had options to choose from on this sunny afternoon: snorkeling, kayaking, early short walk, later short walk or long walk! The snorkelers went with Fernando and Dawn and saw sea turtles and rays (besides the plentiful, varied and ever present colorful species of tropical fish), the kayakers with Juan Carlos went far out and along the coast, pushed by the wind, and they greatly enjoyed paddling on the azure sea and under a warm sun. Sea birds accompanied them, sea turtles and sea lions popped up alongside and before they realized it they had left the ship on the horizon!
As the early hikers motored in to disembark a white sand beach, we saw Galápagos hawks - a dozen of them! - feeding on a freshly dead sea lion pup. Everyone had their long lenses on their cameras and snapped countless photos of these handsome golden birds of prey.
Those who joined Walter, Richard and I on the early short walk were rewarded first, with sea lions of all ages on the beach who posed for numerous photos, and then with several slow moving (or not moving) Santa Fe land iguanas. By the time Fernando and Juan Carlos and their guests joined us for both the short and long options, the sun had disappeared behind a bank of clouds and soon we felt the garua mist. Despite the chilly weather, the hikes were a success because we all saw the endemic Santa Fe land iguanas. Considering that these unique reptiles are found only on Santa Fe Island in all the world, we were pleased to have found a half dozen of them in all. It has been yet another wonderful day in the enchanted islands!
