Santa Cruz and North Seymour Islands
Early this morning we arrived to the central section of the Galápagos Archipelago and dropped anchor off Santa Cruz Island. We disembarked at the main dock of Puerto Ayora and took buses to the highlands where we had an incredible visit to the giant tortoise reserve. Early morning is definitely the best time of the day to locate tortoises in the wild; we also found several species of Darwin finches, bright yellow warblers, and Galápagos mockingbirds. Both the reptiles and the birds are more active in the cool of the morning – and we were too! By the end of the walk, our appetite seemed to be increasing right along with the increasing temperatures, so we were more than ready for breakfast when we reached the simple open-air restaurant run by Miguel Angel who had guided us on our search for tortoises. We certainly felt we had earned a just reward so we piled our plates high with pancakes, fresh fruit and eggs scrambled with a generous number of tiny endemic cherry tomatoes. What a wonderful meal, in a serene setting, after a lovely hike….
After breakfast many of us explored an amazing lava tunnel. We walked about ¼ of a mile underground through a natural tube that was dimly lit for our safety. Similar lava tunnels are found on many of the Galápagos Islands and it is always a unique and thrilling experience to go through one of them. Before returning to the ship by noon, we had time to shop in town or visit the Charles Darwin Research Station.
While we had lunch and a siesta, we navigated towards our next destination, North Seymour Island. This is a magical place, and on our afternoon walk we encountered many blue-footed boobies that were just beginning their elaborate courting ritual. Both male and female boobies were high stepping, sky pointing, shaking their wings and exchanging twig and feather gifts. It seemed to us, as we observed their fervent behaviour, that many were successful and mating bonds were being formed!
On Seymour magnificent frigate birds nest and mate almost all year round. More unusual were the breeding great frigates that we also spotted this afternoon, as this species has a definite nesting period. Finding magnificent and great frigates breeding together on a single small island is in itself very unusual. We returned to the ship as the sun set. Dinner tonight was a fabulous barbecue buffet served on the sky deck. Following the meal we turned off the ship’s lights and enjoyed the firmament with its sparkling cover of stars.
Early this morning we arrived to the central section of the Galápagos Archipelago and dropped anchor off Santa Cruz Island. We disembarked at the main dock of Puerto Ayora and took buses to the highlands where we had an incredible visit to the giant tortoise reserve. Early morning is definitely the best time of the day to locate tortoises in the wild; we also found several species of Darwin finches, bright yellow warblers, and Galápagos mockingbirds. Both the reptiles and the birds are more active in the cool of the morning – and we were too! By the end of the walk, our appetite seemed to be increasing right along with the increasing temperatures, so we were more than ready for breakfast when we reached the simple open-air restaurant run by Miguel Angel who had guided us on our search for tortoises. We certainly felt we had earned a just reward so we piled our plates high with pancakes, fresh fruit and eggs scrambled with a generous number of tiny endemic cherry tomatoes. What a wonderful meal, in a serene setting, after a lovely hike….
After breakfast many of us explored an amazing lava tunnel. We walked about ¼ of a mile underground through a natural tube that was dimly lit for our safety. Similar lava tunnels are found on many of the Galápagos Islands and it is always a unique and thrilling experience to go through one of them. Before returning to the ship by noon, we had time to shop in town or visit the Charles Darwin Research Station.
While we had lunch and a siesta, we navigated towards our next destination, North Seymour Island. This is a magical place, and on our afternoon walk we encountered many blue-footed boobies that were just beginning their elaborate courting ritual. Both male and female boobies were high stepping, sky pointing, shaking their wings and exchanging twig and feather gifts. It seemed to us, as we observed their fervent behaviour, that many were successful and mating bonds were being formed!
On Seymour magnificent frigate birds nest and mate almost all year round. More unusual were the breeding great frigates that we also spotted this afternoon, as this species has a definite nesting period. Finding magnificent and great frigates breeding together on a single small island is in itself very unusual. We returned to the ship as the sun set. Dinner tonight was a fabulous barbecue buffet served on the sky deck. Following the meal we turned off the ship’s lights and enjoyed the firmament with its sparkling cover of stars.
