Today the Galapagos exploration brought us to two of the most iconic places found at the center of the archipelago. South Plaza Island was where we began today´s expedition. After a comfortable dry landing we got everything ready in order to experience a hike in a land iguana paradise. The first surprise of the morning was a hybrid iguana that was resting on top of lava rocks at the coastal area.
Farther along the trail the red and green vegetation covered the Island like a natural carpet displaying magnificent colors. Land iguanas were found almost everywhere we hiked and different kinds of sea birds were flying above us. The presence of a sea lion colony was the perfect addition on the coastal trail and the clear sky along with the blue sea made us feel like we were in paradise.
Once back on board the National Geographic Islander, we started navigation to reach our next destination, Santa Fe Island. Deep water snorkeling was the first adventure of the afternoon, and the underwater exploration along the coastline had a lot of surprises for us. The charms of the Galapagos marine reserve were displayed in a combination of different reef fish species, Galapagos sea lions, and spotted eagle rays as we explored the rocky reef.
A wet landing on a sea lion beach was the beginning of the second part of our adventure today. A hike into Santa Fe´s dry forest was going to be the main activity on the Island. Our goal was to find the Santa Fe land iguana which happens to be endemic to this location. Several individuals, from young sub-adult up to mature iguanas, were found throughout the visit. At the end of our journey the sky was decorated with red and orange colors by a magnificent sunset. Tomorrow the enchanted islands have more surprises in store as we approach the end of expedition.
