Dragon Hill & Chinese Hat Islands
After spending a full day in the Southern part of Santa Cruz Island, visiting the Charles Darwin Station and the Giant tortoises in the Wild, this morning we woke up at the North part of the Island, where the vegetation is very dry compared to the previous days. This part of the Island is home for the Endemic Galápagos Land Iguanas and the tallest prickly pear cactus, which are the main food supply for these reptiles for most of the year.
Male land iguanas are extremely territorial for most of the year, and the main reason is the food source which is provided by the cacti forest, making it very important for them to patrol the area. This explains why two male iguanas are never together, and if they are it is because they are fighting over territory. This morning we had a very challenging fight that lasted for over an hour. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay any longer to see the final episode, but eventually one of two would have had to run away leaving behind the winner, which is usually the strongest; this male would have a better chance to pass on the genetic information for the next generations to come.
For our second morning activity, we had the opportunity to go out snorkeling at Guy Fawkes. Every water activity has been different, and probably this was the best place to see lots of sea stars, sea urchins, nudibranchs, turtles, sharks, rays and several other fish.
For the afternoon, different activities were offered in a location known as Chinese Hat, due to the shape of this tiny island. Deep water snorkeling was amazing. We saw marine iguanas foraging for algae, Galápagos penguins, and lots of fish as always. For those a bit more adventurous, kayaking was offered, and for beach lovers a tiny white coralline beach with sea lions and amazing landscape was at their fingertips.
This is just a small sample of the many highlights our National Geographic Endeavour guests can experience here in the Enchanted Islands.
