After a day full of surprises within civilization, we moved east to two different locations quite close to the last island.
South Plaza is located on the east coast of Santa Cruz, and it has a completely different ecosystem than the islands before. It was formed by several uplifts thousands of years ago and proof of that are the pieces of coral found on the islet.
Since humans settled on the island, they removed the main predator on Plaza which was the Galapagos Hawk. So now, other species patiently wait under the prickly pears for some leafs, flowers or fruits to fall. To visit Plaza is not just for the iguanas and sea lions, though, but to experience one of the most colorful landscapes on the islands. The cactus adds its green foliage, but the Galapagos carpet weed turns red to reserve all the energy it can during the drought.
It was a hot morning walk, so many of us took the opportunity to jump from the National Geographic Islander into the refreshing ocean while the kids had their Zodiac driving lessons.
During the afternoon our home moved to Santa Fe, which is just two hours away from Plaza; so everyone could enjoy a brief nap time. The first group departed to kayak around the bay where we were anchored and others left for a snorkel. It took us a while, but we succeeded in finding turtles; however, instead of finding green turtles we found a rare hawksbill turtle that stayed a long time with us. And to finish with our activities, the last option was a walk. Sea lions welcomed us on a sandy beach followed by a different land iguana than in the morning, one that is restricted to this island.
It was another day in the Galapagos Islands with two incredible surprises, a short eared owl in Plaza and a hawksbill turtle in Santa Fe.
