This morning the National Geographic Endeavour continued its magical voyage around the Galapagos Archipelago. We anchored off of Dragon Hill, located in the northwestern side of Santa Cruz Island. This visitor site is home to a healthy population of Galapagos land iguanas, Conolophus subcristatus.
It was overcast and we were prepared for rain, jackets and protection for the cameras were packed, however the light rain ended as soon as we were on land! This part of Santa Cruz is still very dry. Right by the landing area, several blue-footed boobies were resting, as if they wanted to be photographed. Not too far away, a magnificent male Galapagos marine iguana is nodding its head, showing us that he is the owner of this territory, and a bit further beyond that, young Galapagos sea lions were bringing their heads out of the water in order to observe us better. What a welcome committee! There were perfect tracks from the tails of the marine iguanas all over the sand, so we followed the tracks and soon found several adult iguanas seeking shade beneath the plants!
As we continued our hike, we soon passed a brackish water lagoon where we observed three flamingos. We moved closer to get some better photos, however we were distracted by the loud, insistent song of a Galapagos mockingbird, who we found posing for us on a nearby branch. It was muddy around the lagoon and as we headed towards the inland, suddenly we spotted a Galapagos male land iguana resting underneath a bush. We all passed by and took pictures, and the iguana just stayed still, barely opening his eyes from time to time, totally unconcerned with our presence. He was an excellent model for our photos! We continued on, enjoying a great hike full of breathtaking landscapes.
Once we had returned to our ship, we immediately prepared for another snorkeling opportunity. Here at Guy Fawkes Islet, amazing snorkeling awaited us, and we spotted a large school of fish, white-tipped reef sharks, a wonderful volcanic rock reef filled with black corals and many invertebrates, a solitary Galapagos penguin, Pacific green sea turtles, a huge spotted eagle ray and playful Galapagos sea lions! Great visibility and a lot of action, everyone had big smiles on their faces as we returned!
Today was full of special moments, and one of them was our traditional Ecuadorian lunch. Many dishes from different regions of our country were offered, a delicious meal, prepared with love by our dedicated galley staff.
During the afternoon, several activities were offered. I was in charge of the young explorers, teaching them how to convert paper to pearls and using these beads for bracelets and necklaces. Soon after, some of our adventurous guests decided to join me for a kayaking exploration of the surroundings of Eden Islet, while other guests went out for Zodiac rides, and the kids had a chance to learn how to drive a Zodiac. But our day was not over yet, and as we returned from our excursions, we pulled anchor and continued our navigation towards Daphne Major Islet for a sunset circumnavigation. As we neared our destination, a short documentary was showed to our guests on the work and discoveries of scientists Peter and Rosemary Grant on Daphne Major.
Due to the great weather conditions, the day ended with star gazing. Only at the Equator are we able to see constellations from both the northern and the southern hemisphere. What a great day, but the adventure continues tomorrow…
