Cerro Dragon & Sombrero Chino
Today we woke up early to hike around a different portion of Santa Cruz Island. With good food and lots of coffee on board, we reached the island in no time and kept our eyes peeled for the endemic land iguanas. We headed to their main hang out area called Cerro Dragon, also known as Dragon Hill. Our group first spotted an unexpected guest, a pink flamingo feeding in the lagoon near the beach. As we went on by looking carefully we spotted two land iguanas which blended in well with the dusty soil, watching us as we walked closely by. Since there had been a lot of rain this past year there were many cotton plants with beautiful yellow flowers blooming. A cactus finch peered at us from its nest cradled in the arms of a prickly pear. From the crest of the hill we had a sweeping view of the vegetation below us, which stretched out to the coastline. Well off shore we could see our boat the National Geographic Polaris awaiting our return.
Our next event involved many different choices of activities. One choice was going to the nearby small beach, spotted with a few sea lions relaxing on the shore. Another choice was swimming (or water aerobics) from the ship’s platform when it got too hot resting on the boat. Other brave souls went deep water snorkelling in the “washing machine” currents near Guy Fawkes Islets, battling the currents to view the indescribable underwater world.
Before lunch we listened to an amazing talk by Kitty Coley who spoke about the evolution of birds from dinosaurs. After lunch and a video about sharks, there were more choices to be made. One choice was snorkelling in calmer, shallower water where there were several white-tip reef sharks, rainbow fish, parrot fish, penguins, sting rays, puffer fish and even a marine iguana feeding underwater! One feels exhilarated from being engrossed in another world watching other species go about their lives. Then we headed back to the ship for a great barbeque dinner before collapsing into bed.
Nature
Indescribable forces
Powerless
Untouched species
Isolated
Pure
Evolution
Witnessing the place
Creation was questioned
The struggle
The desperation
The dedication
Survival
Bare naked truth
Fighting to live
Ingrained Instincts
Simple yet fragile
Adaptation
Death to extinction
Survival of the few
Carrying the future
One more day
By: Melissa Boldrey
Today we woke up early to hike around a different portion of Santa Cruz Island. With good food and lots of coffee on board, we reached the island in no time and kept our eyes peeled for the endemic land iguanas. We headed to their main hang out area called Cerro Dragon, also known as Dragon Hill. Our group first spotted an unexpected guest, a pink flamingo feeding in the lagoon near the beach. As we went on by looking carefully we spotted two land iguanas which blended in well with the dusty soil, watching us as we walked closely by. Since there had been a lot of rain this past year there were many cotton plants with beautiful yellow flowers blooming. A cactus finch peered at us from its nest cradled in the arms of a prickly pear. From the crest of the hill we had a sweeping view of the vegetation below us, which stretched out to the coastline. Well off shore we could see our boat the National Geographic Polaris awaiting our return.
Our next event involved many different choices of activities. One choice was going to the nearby small beach, spotted with a few sea lions relaxing on the shore. Another choice was swimming (or water aerobics) from the ship’s platform when it got too hot resting on the boat. Other brave souls went deep water snorkelling in the “washing machine” currents near Guy Fawkes Islets, battling the currents to view the indescribable underwater world.
Before lunch we listened to an amazing talk by Kitty Coley who spoke about the evolution of birds from dinosaurs. After lunch and a video about sharks, there were more choices to be made. One choice was snorkelling in calmer, shallower water where there were several white-tip reef sharks, rainbow fish, parrot fish, penguins, sting rays, puffer fish and even a marine iguana feeding underwater! One feels exhilarated from being engrossed in another world watching other species go about their lives. Then we headed back to the ship for a great barbeque dinner before collapsing into bed.
Nature
Indescribable forces
Powerless
Untouched species
Isolated
Pure
Evolution
Witnessing the place
Creation was questioned
The struggle
The desperation
The dedication
Survival
Bare naked truth
Fighting to live
Ingrained Instincts
Simple yet fragile
Adaptation
Death to extinction
Survival of the few
Carrying the future
One more day
By: Melissa Boldrey
