Santa Cruz Island
I woke up at first light, made myself a cup of tea, and went to the top deck. We were anchored at Academy Bay, swaying in the light southern swells. There was no wind as all the vessels around us were pointing different directions. In the distance a flock of brown noddies was foraging, their reflections clearly visible in the glassy ocean. High above I could make out the silhouettes of frigate birds. Some brown pelicans were swimming around the ship, seemingly with an endless patience. They were expecting food of course, but we offered them nothing but some cooing words. When pelicans swim, it is as if they are filled with some helium. They sit much higher in the water than many other seabirds. At the breakfast buffet I gorged on smoked trout with sour cream, followed with a croissant and jam; great food for the busy day we had lying before us.
First we went to the tortoise rearing centre, to see the different shells, ages and learn about their conservation. The centre is situated in a beautiful forest of giant endemic tree cacti, endemic hardwood trees and native incense trees. We spotted different types of finches, mockingbirds, yellow warblers, fly catchers and anis. And we saw Lonesome George, the most famous tortoise in the world. He was not really active, but being able to see him is already great, for many times George hides behind the shrubs and bushes in his spacious corral.
After the tortoises there was some shopping time, and at 11am we took coaches to the lush hills of Santa Cruz, where we would have lunch on a terrace with a spectacular view of the islands, followed by a field excursion looking for tortoises and finches. But before that, we entered a long lava tube, spookily lighted with some bulbs, meandering in various directions, now and then making us kneel down.
At last we visited two pit craters, called Los Gemelos, where we saw orchids, ferns, bromelias, tree Scalesia, mistletoe and several species of finches. It was 4:30pm when we were back in Puerto Ayora, a little tired, but very satisfied. After some last shopping errands, ice creams and drinks we were all back on the ship at 6:00pm.
