Santa Cruz Island
It was muddy! And I mean muddy in every way, yet we all had a lot of fun! Yes, we all enjoyed the visit to Cerro Dragon on the northwestern tip of Santa Cruz Island, where we expected to find land iguanas. And iguanas we found! Very happy ones with incredible lush surroundings, they were all munching on the exuberant vegetation. This rainy season has certainly been strong. Everyone was impressed by the size of the spines of the prickly pear cactus, and we decided to call them “bearded plants.” A few steps later we found great joy in watching the endemic carpenter bee pollinating the puncture vines that are in full blossom.
A Greater flamingo and a Great blue heron made an incredible contribution to the enhancement of the place, the last one hunting along the shoreline. There were also a good number of shorebirds exploring the waterline pacing like wind-up toys up and down the beach. It was a very different approach to the islands from the previous days, and we liked it just as well.
During the afternoon we went to visit the highlands of Santa Cruz in order to have an encounter with Galápagos giant tortoises in the wild. While working on this task, we experienced a hard rain that made not only the flowers bloom but also our souls. The tortoises were there in spite of the rain and there were more than just a few. Normally when the rainy season is in, these reptiles migrate to their nesting grounds, however today we saw that some have decided to remain.
The islands’ wildlife seemed especially busy in the rain. The perpetuation of some species is rapidly triggered by these environmental factors, and such is the case of the finches.
Once again hope has touched our lives and we have come to understand that the decision to protect our home – our beautiful planet – is ours alone. Galápagos is again an inspiration.
