We were already anchored at Cerro Dragon, north of Santa Cruz Island, when morning broke. The skies were clear, the waters calm and the moon was still up in the sky as we approached the landing spot for our pre-breakfast visit. We began our walk and just a short while afterwards we found a small lagoon of brackish waters. It was surrounded by a landscape of incense trees and prickly pears, and soon we discovered that three greater flamingos were there, filtering the muddy waters with their beaks. In the morning light this was a sublime scene. We then moved further inland; Cerro Dragon is famous for being the home to a small population of the endangered land iguanas. The morning sunshine had already started to warm up the ground, so many iguanas had already emerged from their nocturnal hideout places and were basking in the sun. From the top of the hill we could see both the highlands of Santa Cruz other islands in the vicinity.
Upon our return onboard we had to get ready for the next morning activity. Our guests could choose between an exciting snorkeling outing or relaxing, swimming and snorkeling at the local beach. Snorkelers departed towards Guy Fawkes rocks, the remains of an old tuff cone. Here the number and variety of fish was amazing, and many even spotted some manta rays. At the beach the colors were spectacular: white sand, turquoise waters and blue sky. It was also a lot of fun to simply enjoy watching the ghost crabs crawl on the sand, the pelicans and brown noddies fishing and a statuesque marine iguana sunbathing on some rocks.
In the afternoon we changed location and navigated further west toward Eden, a small islet close to the Santa Cruz shore. We set off in our Zodiacs to explore this beautiful coastline, and the list of species encountered is a long one: blue-footed boobies diving, brown pelicans, great blue herons and brown noddy terns. East Pacific green sea turtles find that the calm bays of this area are a perfect spot for feeding and relaxing after their long journeys. In the meantime, our young explorers were learning to drive a Zodiac… what fun!
There was more to come to end a perfect day: a circumnavigation around Daphne Major. We all gathered together in front of the bridge where we could see it in full and where we could also hear why this small crater is such a highlight. Here, a couple of British scientists have been studying the finch population for over four decades, gathering an overwhelming amount of information to prove that evolution happens in a shorter span of time, over a few years, over just a few seasons, even day to day, here in the Enchanted Islands.
