Santa Cruz Island
After a few hours of navigation last night, we arrived this morning to the northwestern end of Santa Cruz Island. This morning we went on to a gorgeous place known as Dragon Hill, which symbolizes the efforts of the Galápagos National Park to restore some of the endemic populations of plants and animals. The main problem in this area was introduced dogs that were killing Galápagos land iguanas; after an intensive eradication campaign, the feral dogs were finally removed. In the mean time, land iguanas were taken to an islet where they bred in semi-captivity.
This morning we found several land iguanas as we walked along the trail around Dragon Hill. We also had the company of several land birds; we encounter Darwin finches of different species as well as Galápagos doves and mockingbirds all the way along a deciduous forest of “Palo Santo”. After this great walk we also had a chance to go snorkeling and swimming, so we experienced the best of both worlds, the one above the water and the one underneath it.
We left Dragon Hill later on during lunch and headed towards another incredible place. We arrived this afternoon to Chinese Hat Islet; this islet and its beautiful turquoise blue channel can only be compared to paradise. We went swimming from the beach, kayaking, and deep water snorkeling. Some of us also went on to a Zodiac ride along the coast of this islet and Santiago Island coast. We encountered several sea lions resting placidly on the lava rocks, Galápagos penguins were also observed roosting on the rough lava terrain while the afternoon was ending.
In the distance we enjoyed the bright red colors of the sunset while a delicious BBQ dinner was prepared onboard.
After a few hours of navigation last night, we arrived this morning to the northwestern end of Santa Cruz Island. This morning we went on to a gorgeous place known as Dragon Hill, which symbolizes the efforts of the Galápagos National Park to restore some of the endemic populations of plants and animals. The main problem in this area was introduced dogs that were killing Galápagos land iguanas; after an intensive eradication campaign, the feral dogs were finally removed. In the mean time, land iguanas were taken to an islet where they bred in semi-captivity.
This morning we found several land iguanas as we walked along the trail around Dragon Hill. We also had the company of several land birds; we encounter Darwin finches of different species as well as Galápagos doves and mockingbirds all the way along a deciduous forest of “Palo Santo”. After this great walk we also had a chance to go snorkeling and swimming, so we experienced the best of both worlds, the one above the water and the one underneath it.
We left Dragon Hill later on during lunch and headed towards another incredible place. We arrived this afternoon to Chinese Hat Islet; this islet and its beautiful turquoise blue channel can only be compared to paradise. We went swimming from the beach, kayaking, and deep water snorkeling. Some of us also went on to a Zodiac ride along the coast of this islet and Santiago Island coast. We encountered several sea lions resting placidly on the lava rocks, Galápagos penguins were also observed roosting on the rough lava terrain while the afternoon was ending.
In the distance we enjoyed the bright red colors of the sunset while a delicious BBQ dinner was prepared onboard.
