We woke up to a beautiful sunny day, with small Eliot’s storm petrels feeding on the surface of the water. After breakfast, we had a dry landing on a colorful uplifted island known as South Plaza, a place which was named after an Ecuadorian President, This was a small flat island (uplifted terrine) covered with red succulents and green prickly pear cacti. Yellow dragons known as land iguanas have successfully colonized the islands a few million years ago since they separated from their ancestors. Today, they are found on six of the enchanted islands, including South Plaza, where they became the top herbivore and the most dominant species on land. The cliffs on these islands are bathed by the breaking waves, and they serve as nesting ground for the Galapagos shear waters and swallow-tailed gulls, which are overseen flying in search of food. We were lucky to photograph some of the red-billed tropic birds landing on the small ledges of the cliffs where they nest.
After lunch, we dropped anchor and got ready to explore the visitor site on Santa Fe Island. Some of our guests decided to go snorkeling. During the snorkeling opportunity we spotted many species of fish, such as diamond sting rays, yellow-tailed razor surgeons, and a couple of green Pacific sea turtles resting on the bottom of the ocean. Along the hike, the highlight was spotting the Santa Fe land iguana, in fact we were lucky to spot around four of these rare individuals, found only on this island. Some of the iguanas were very friendly and welcomed us into their habitat. A few baby leafs are a sign of light mist bathing the place with the precious and rare precipitation in the islands. Some cactus finches, mocking birds, and many sea lions were part of the fauna of the visitor site.
What an amazing day. Another great adventure in the Galapagos!
