South Plaza and Santa Fe
We are well into our week of Galápagos voyaging by now, and many of us have fallen under the spell these islands and their wildlife cast. If it had not happened already, then we certainly felt it today.
We began with a visit to South Plaza, a wonderful small rock which was once part of the ocean floor. The amount of wildlife on this rock, which is only a few hundred yards long, is surprising. Right at the small jetty a colony of sea lions awaited us, reluctant to give up the landing spot. We saw lava gulls, swallow tailed gulls, ruddy turnstones at the landing. Scattered under and around the big Opuntia Cacti we saw land iguanas waiting for the cactus fruit to drop or using the giant plants for shade. Lower on the rocks, which were whitened with guano, a red succulent called Galápagos Carpet Weed grows in large quantities. The whole scene made many of us want to stop and stay for the rest of the day, there was so much to see and do!
Yet there was more, we walked on boulders to see many more land Iguanas going about their daily habits, giving us great opportunities for pictures. It is surprising how resilient this species is, and the large quantity this small islet sustains. Later in the walk, high on the cliff, we visited a sea lion colony. Not a common colony though, but one just for males, called a bachelor colony. This hard-to-reach place is for the expelled, weakened and overstressed males, giving them opportunity to recover by resting and binge feeding, all in a stress-free, harmonious environment. After a few weeks of rest and many meals of fish, for most of them it is back to the females and pups again, where a month of protecting, fighting and mating will keep them occupied for most of the day.
Later we visited Santa Fe, where we start exploring the underwater world in a shallow bay. We swam along a rocky shore and saw a lot of activity in the slow surging waters, with a school of eagle rays as a highlight. After we were back on board with dry clothes we headed out again, this time for a walk on the island. We came to see a different land iguana, a pale version, endemic to Santa Fe. Next to these rare reptiles we see many endemic rice rats. Although some of us will never be pleased seeing a rodent, the sight of a small fuzzy rodent nibbling at ease on some grains, oblivious of human presence, in such a natural and beautiful environment, is pleasing for the most of us. Many quiet cries of excitement were heard during the walk of about two hours.
The soft light of the fading sun was bathing the island in a warm glow, and the clouds reflected the orange of the oncoming sunset in the Pacific. The magic spell continues, capturing every single one of us, and it makes us long for more and more.
