Santa Cruz & North Seymour Islands
Our early morning wake up call was the perfect idea for visiting the charming island of Santa Cruz. Little we knew that we would enjoy such wonderful weather the whole morning. Local buses took us on a ride to the mountain side of the island, where big and ancient giant tortoises roam along a reserve called “El Chato.”
The sun started to hit us hard as the morning progressed, but at the same time, we saw how the tortoises became more and more active. The normal location of the tortoises at this time of the year is a fresh water pond located at the highlands. Most unfortunately the pond wasn’t there, but it didn't matter, because the giant tortoises were found along the area just the same. Even before we reached the reserve we were lucky to see many of the tortoises moving uphill along the road, simply searching for elephant grass, its primary water and food source.
After the visit to El Chato, we headed to the buses and briefly stopped at the entrance of a nearby lava tunnel. Some of our guests crossed the half-mile lava tunnel, which most conveniently had a restaurant located at its exit door. It was here where we enjoyed a delicious open seated breakfast with a magnificent view of the islands surrounding us. Once back in town, our guests had some free time for refreshments and why not, souvenir shopping!
The Islander sailed off the island of Santa Cruz during lunch time heading to our next destination, North Seymour Island. This is an Island that has been the result of a series of uplifts, and it appeared to be very flat and dry. Galápagos sea lions welcomed us during our disembarkation, and we also observed lots of swallow tailed gulls nesting along its dramatic cliffs.
The main attraction of the whole trip was perhaps the number of iguana sightings. There were at least twenty five of these dragon-like reptiles in the middle of the trail, eating up the vegetation of the area and adding a little bit of extra color to the view. As we were strolling along the coastline, the famous blue footed booby and quite a few individuals of the frigate birds were breeding. The blue footed boobies were performing their characteristic dance. In addition, male Frigate birds were also courting their females, trying to attract them with their singular red pouches. Part of their strategy includes the non-stop shaking of their wings and the continuous clapping of their bills to attract the females flying overhead.
If I have to describe the day using only one word, it would be “wonderful!” As we got back to the ship, we couldn’t stop talking of what we saw, ready to share our highlights with our fellow mates on board. We are looking so forward to start our new adventure tomorrow!
Our early morning wake up call was the perfect idea for visiting the charming island of Santa Cruz. Little we knew that we would enjoy such wonderful weather the whole morning. Local buses took us on a ride to the mountain side of the island, where big and ancient giant tortoises roam along a reserve called “El Chato.”
The sun started to hit us hard as the morning progressed, but at the same time, we saw how the tortoises became more and more active. The normal location of the tortoises at this time of the year is a fresh water pond located at the highlands. Most unfortunately the pond wasn’t there, but it didn't matter, because the giant tortoises were found along the area just the same. Even before we reached the reserve we were lucky to see many of the tortoises moving uphill along the road, simply searching for elephant grass, its primary water and food source.
After the visit to El Chato, we headed to the buses and briefly stopped at the entrance of a nearby lava tunnel. Some of our guests crossed the half-mile lava tunnel, which most conveniently had a restaurant located at its exit door. It was here where we enjoyed a delicious open seated breakfast with a magnificent view of the islands surrounding us. Once back in town, our guests had some free time for refreshments and why not, souvenir shopping!
The Islander sailed off the island of Santa Cruz during lunch time heading to our next destination, North Seymour Island. This is an Island that has been the result of a series of uplifts, and it appeared to be very flat and dry. Galápagos sea lions welcomed us during our disembarkation, and we also observed lots of swallow tailed gulls nesting along its dramatic cliffs.
The main attraction of the whole trip was perhaps the number of iguana sightings. There were at least twenty five of these dragon-like reptiles in the middle of the trail, eating up the vegetation of the area and adding a little bit of extra color to the view. As we were strolling along the coastline, the famous blue footed booby and quite a few individuals of the frigate birds were breeding. The blue footed boobies were performing their characteristic dance. In addition, male Frigate birds were also courting their females, trying to attract them with their singular red pouches. Part of their strategy includes the non-stop shaking of their wings and the continuous clapping of their bills to attract the females flying overhead.
If I have to describe the day using only one word, it would be “wonderful!” As we got back to the ship, we couldn’t stop talking of what we saw, ready to share our highlights with our fellow mates on board. We are looking so forward to start our new adventure tomorrow!
