Santa Cruz and North Seymour Islands
Last night, Harvard Alumni Professor Owen Gingerich spoke with passion about of the stars in the night sky over these equatorial islands, and today we had a wonderful experience visiting two more of the most central islands in the archipelago with their own resident “stars.”
Early in the morning, we headed towards the highlands of Santa Cruz Island where we were first impressed by the sudden change between the dry coastal vegetation and the green, lush, agricultural zone. This was followed by the abundance of giant tortoises observed feeding, some just starting to wake up while others were still resting under some shrubs.
Once our walk through the tortoise reserve was complete, we explored an amazing lava tunnel formed when a lava flow left behind the cooling surface layers. The insulated, still molten rock then emptied out, and once evacuated, left a hollow formation large enough to allow us to walk through.
During the afternoon, we explored the island of North Seymour where many land iguanas, Galápagos sea lions and lots of blue footed boobies courting. We observed also magnificent frigate birds, some with their red gular sacs in full display; a few swallow tailed gulls were seen resting on the steps of the landing site getting ready to go fishing later, as it is a nocturnal feeder.
We had a great time today, and during recap time we shared more thoughts on these fascinating islands.
Last night, Harvard Alumni Professor Owen Gingerich spoke with passion about of the stars in the night sky over these equatorial islands, and today we had a wonderful experience visiting two more of the most central islands in the archipelago with their own resident “stars.”
Early in the morning, we headed towards the highlands of Santa Cruz Island where we were first impressed by the sudden change between the dry coastal vegetation and the green, lush, agricultural zone. This was followed by the abundance of giant tortoises observed feeding, some just starting to wake up while others were still resting under some shrubs.
Once our walk through the tortoise reserve was complete, we explored an amazing lava tunnel formed when a lava flow left behind the cooling surface layers. The insulated, still molten rock then emptied out, and once evacuated, left a hollow formation large enough to allow us to walk through.
During the afternoon, we explored the island of North Seymour where many land iguanas, Galápagos sea lions and lots of blue footed boobies courting. We observed also magnificent frigate birds, some with their red gular sacs in full display; a few swallow tailed gulls were seen resting on the steps of the landing site getting ready to go fishing later, as it is a nocturnal feeder.
We had a great time today, and during recap time we shared more thoughts on these fascinating islands.
