Santa Cruz and North Seymour Islands
Santa Cruz Island received us today with some clouds in the horizon. That was not bad at all, since the promises of seeing the mystical Galápagos giant tortoises among the mist sounded intriguing. As soon as we disembarked at the main dock we encountered the traces of civilization, something that nobody was really ready for, yet. Pto. Ayora is the largest human settlement in the Galápagos Islands, with more than sixteen thousand people living on it. This charming town was our getaway to our morning adventure. Because of the roads built in town, our access to the giant tortoises’ reserve area was relatively easy. A fifty-minute ride by bus took us to the highlands of Santa Cruz, and after a walk throughout the forest we encounter them. Weighting as much as six hundred pounds, these ancient reptiles were having a mud bath by a natural water lagoon formed mainly by the mist and rain. The main purpose of this is to create an external layer that would protect them from parasites and bugs. Then, we immersed ourselves into the Galápagos’ geology. A near by lava tunnel formation was ideal to explain the way how lava was naturally transported to different regions of the island. Strategically, the exit of the lava tunnel was located at the entrance of a “restaurant by request” where a delicious buffet style breakfast was offered.
The afternoon was dedicated to visit and explore North Seymour Island. The gracefulness of the swallow-tailed gulls was one of the first things that we noted as we started our exploration. These gulls perform a nocturnal behavior, which have been an adaptation of the species since the earlier Galápagos times. We also observed two species of frigate birds, great and magnificent. I must say that one of the highlights was to see the spectacular red pouch inflated. These frigatebirds are very well known because of their parasitic behavior, and as we were strolling along the beach, we could observe them in action. A juvenile blue footed booby was being fed by its father and in that precise moment, it was attacked by a group of frigates that seemed to appear from nowhere. This behavior is known as cleptoparasitism, and it is mainly perform by birds that depend on others to obtain food supply.
Santa Cruz Island received us today with some clouds in the horizon. That was not bad at all, since the promises of seeing the mystical Galápagos giant tortoises among the mist sounded intriguing. As soon as we disembarked at the main dock we encountered the traces of civilization, something that nobody was really ready for, yet. Pto. Ayora is the largest human settlement in the Galápagos Islands, with more than sixteen thousand people living on it. This charming town was our getaway to our morning adventure. Because of the roads built in town, our access to the giant tortoises’ reserve area was relatively easy. A fifty-minute ride by bus took us to the highlands of Santa Cruz, and after a walk throughout the forest we encounter them. Weighting as much as six hundred pounds, these ancient reptiles were having a mud bath by a natural water lagoon formed mainly by the mist and rain. The main purpose of this is to create an external layer that would protect them from parasites and bugs. Then, we immersed ourselves into the Galápagos’ geology. A near by lava tunnel formation was ideal to explain the way how lava was naturally transported to different regions of the island. Strategically, the exit of the lava tunnel was located at the entrance of a “restaurant by request” where a delicious buffet style breakfast was offered.
The afternoon was dedicated to visit and explore North Seymour Island. The gracefulness of the swallow-tailed gulls was one of the first things that we noted as we started our exploration. These gulls perform a nocturnal behavior, which have been an adaptation of the species since the earlier Galápagos times. We also observed two species of frigate birds, great and magnificent. I must say that one of the highlights was to see the spectacular red pouch inflated. These frigatebirds are very well known because of their parasitic behavior, and as we were strolling along the beach, we could observe them in action. A juvenile blue footed booby was being fed by its father and in that precise moment, it was attacked by a group of frigates that seemed to appear from nowhere. This behavior is known as cleptoparasitism, and it is mainly perform by birds that depend on others to obtain food supply.
