Today we awake at the east side of Santa Cruz Island. We see North Plaza, which is only for scientific expeditions and the island that we are going to visit, South Plaza. It happens to be that today we are going to visit two of many other islands that have been uplifted from under water cause of the tectonic activity.
Landing at South Plaza we are able to find Sea Lions playing in the water, Land Iguanas feeding, Swallow Tailed Gulls nesting and this is just the beginning! Then we continue up into the trail getting through a Land Iguana nesting area. We were able to appreciate all the effort the females put into digging with their hands to laid their eggs and keep them safe from predators. Females stay for a while until the eggs are safe. Reptiles let their hatchlings feed by themselves since they see the first sunlight. Then along the cliff of this island we are able to see some birds flying, like Frigate birds gladding and waiting for their opportunity to get their food from the top of the ocean. They can’t dive so they steal their food from other birds like the Galapagos Shearwaters and also the Red billed Tropic Bird. On the way back we found some coral fossils that let us know this place suddenly came up because of the tectonic activity.
Back onboard, we make our way to Santa Fe. We were surprised to catch up with a small group of Dolphins and about a hundred Pilot Whales. What a joy was to see these creatures so close to the ship. The ship slowed down its speed to we could get better pictures and appreciate this great moment.
We made it on time to our next destination, Santa Fe Island, for the snorkeling that is going to take place in a beautiful bay with Sea Lions and lots of fish. Kayaking took place along the shore of the same island. After those activities we got ready to disembark for the hike. As soon as we landed on a white sand beach we found Sea Lions playing along the beach chasing each other – they look very funny when they run!
Continuing with the excursion inland along the way we got to find the endemic Santa Fe species of land iguana. We also found tall cactus with some finches and mockingbirds. Almost reaching the end of the trail in another beach we got to find the endemic mice of this island. This is a mammal that came from mainland by natural ways across 600 miles of sea, and have adapted to survive here.
Back onboard while the sun sets behind our backs over Santa Fe Island, one more day of joy goes by in this wonderful place called Galapagos. Let’s take care of these waters and our planet so we all have this joy.
