Santa Cruz and North Seymour Islands
There is something that should not bother anybody, and that is to be awakened at 6 am to go out in search of giant tortoises before breakfast. After a half hour ride by bus to the highlands of Santa Cruz Island, we went for a 45 minute walk to a place call El Chato. Here we were rewarded by a spectacular view of at least 70 tortoises! Afterwards many of us went down into the entrance of one of the most incredible lava tunnels that we find in the area. The non-claustrophobic walked inside this interesting geological feature for about a quarter of a mile.
By 9 am we were helping ourselves to a well deserved breakfast. We boarded the buses for the ride back to Puerto Ayora, a village with a population of about 15,000 people whose main income is from tourism.
During lunch, we navigated north of Santa Cruz Island and anchored off the little island of North Seymour. Although it is small, this little island is home to an amazing variety of wild life. This afternoon we watched the famous “pirates of the air,” the frigate birds, in full courtship display. There were also blue footed boobies nesting, land iguanas resting next to the trail and some playful sea lions body surfing in breaking waves along the shoreline. A spectacular golden sunset was the grand finale to a marvelous day.
There is something that should not bother anybody, and that is to be awakened at 6 am to go out in search of giant tortoises before breakfast. After a half hour ride by bus to the highlands of Santa Cruz Island, we went for a 45 minute walk to a place call El Chato. Here we were rewarded by a spectacular view of at least 70 tortoises! Afterwards many of us went down into the entrance of one of the most incredible lava tunnels that we find in the area. The non-claustrophobic walked inside this interesting geological feature for about a quarter of a mile.
By 9 am we were helping ourselves to a well deserved breakfast. We boarded the buses for the ride back to Puerto Ayora, a village with a population of about 15,000 people whose main income is from tourism.
During lunch, we navigated north of Santa Cruz Island and anchored off the little island of North Seymour. Although it is small, this little island is home to an amazing variety of wild life. This afternoon we watched the famous “pirates of the air,” the frigate birds, in full courtship display. There were also blue footed boobies nesting, land iguanas resting next to the trail and some playful sea lions body surfing in breaking waves along the shoreline. A spectacular golden sunset was the grand finale to a marvelous day.
