South Plaza and Santa Fe
We began this glorious day with a delightful dip in the azure waters of the peaceful Pacific. The sun was warm, the water barely cool, and we thoroughly enjoyed leaping from the decks of the National Geographic Islander. Following breakfast we disembarked on a cement and lava dock and climbed onto the rocky shoreline of South Plaza Island. Immediately we were charmed by the playful antics of several sea lion pups only months old that were splashing in the surf and resting on the rocks. Under tall Opuntia cactus trees we spied several yellow land iguanas. The iguanas of Plaza are fat and healthy; the heavy rains that we have seen and experienced almost daily have produced plentiful greenery for these herbivorous reptiles to feed on. We watched one iguana devouring a succulent cactus pad, saw another chewing on a cactus fruit and a third was high up in a bush feeding on the mature seeds.
We followed a rocky trail and climbed the island to a steep cliff-edge where a welcome breeze cooled us and provided an excellent view of seabirds soaring at eye level. Gorgeous glossy white tropic birds with fire-engine red bills fluttered along the cliff, searching for nest holes. Swallow-tailed gulls floated on the wind or stood under cactus trees along the tops of the cliff. Some of the gulls had white speckled chicks that peeped and begged incessantly for food. But the swallow tails are nocturnal feeders – by feeding at night they avoid the marauding frigate birds who rob other sea birds of the fish they have caught – so at this time in the morning the chicks were begging in vain.
After following a loop trail back to the landing dock we were entertained by a gang of rowdy, cavorting teenage sea lions playing in a tidal pool. As soon as we reached the ship we too leapt into the water for our second swim of the day!
After lunch and siesta most of our guests, led by Naturalist Pato, headed for the water for a third time, and snorkeled in the turquoise bay at Santa Fe Island. There were thousands of fish – huge schools of black striped salema, which is one of the favorite foods of the blue-footed boobies. In addition we saw rays and sea turtles, sea lions swam with us and blue-footed boobies watched us from the rocks. We spent an amazing hour in the water and only reluctantly climbed the ladders back into the Zodiacs.
Our final outings of the afternoon were a choice between a long rocky fast-paced hike that followed an old stream bed and then climbed the cliff to the high plateau of the island, or a short easy walk. Everyone who hiked, whether they chose the long or the short hike, greatly appreciated the cloud cover that shielded us from the hot tropical sun. There were many sea lions on the beaches, one pale yellow land iguana on each of the hikes and huge, elegant cactus trees plus fabulous views and many pictures were taken by all of us. Yet another outstanding day in “ las islas encantadas.”
