Santa Cruz Island
Located at the center of the archipelago, Santa Cruz offers innumerable attractions and destinations. Yesterday we observed the emblematic giant tortoise in the highlands and today in the lowlands, another special reptile captivated the attention of our guests: the land iguana.
With the first beam of light, we headed to “Dragon Hill”; the landscape looked green and the birds chirped cheerfully, as though telling us they were very happy due to last night’s rain, which left them abundant puddles of fresh water. On the other hand, marine iguanas didn’t share that happiness: the humid night implied they had to look for shelter to keep warmer, including into a small pond.
The trail was muddy with a reddish color that contrasted with the green vegetation, and the small lagoon behind the landing area looked empty without the waders which are commonly observed here. After crossing the rocky path, we finally arrived at the land iguanas’ territory. After some minutes, the first one appeared just beside of us, hidden by some bushes. It was a female, and she looked very elusive compared with the others we observed later.
The temperature was increasing and the sunny day was excellent for swimming. Our second outing included snorkeling activities along Guy Fawkes, an islet with abundant species of fish and clear water. Our guests observed sea turtles, white-tipped reef sharks and colorful fish. On the rocks, a group of marine iguanas fed on algae, taking advantage of the low tide.
In the afternoon, we dropped anchor at El Eden, a small islet raised in the middle of the ocean, hiding its beautiful golden beach which was once an active caldera. One group kayaked along the shore, while another group took a Zodiac ride, enjoying the tranquility this place offered. On the shore, we observed one Sally Lightfoot crab feeding on another, a behavior rarely seen. In the water, the sea turtles showed their heads and white-tipped sharks swam along the shallows. The sky was getting cloudy, a signal that it would rain soon.
We went back to the National Geographic Endeavour, heading to the Daphne Islets. As we watched the gorgeous landscape and the sunset, a group of dolphins suddenly appeared, swimming beside our ship. They looked friendly and playful, as though telling us the day was over, giving way to a spectacular sky with its constellations completely visible.
