Santa Cruz & North Seymour Islands
Our day started with our landing to one of the largest cities in the Galápagos Islands, Pto Ayora. This is the place where long ago, a group of Norwegians decided to establish and formed a village. This was the first successful attempt to colonize Galápagos back in the late 1920’s.
Now, Pto Ayora is a vibrant village with more than fifteen thousand inhabitants (mostly Ecuadorians) who are hard working people, dedicated to mainly tourism. This city was also our gateway to get to see the most emblematic species in the Galápagos, the giant tortoises. After a nice walk in the opening fields of the highlands, each one of our guests had counted more than twenty giant tortoises in a close range, either from the bus or as we were strolling along the dense vegetation that covers part of the highlands of Santa Cruz.
In the afternoon, another “wild hi” was presented, North Seymour Island. This rather small island has the most incredible variation of species in one single spot. From blue footed boobies, frigate birds and swallow tailed gulls to reptile species such as lava lizards and land iguanas.
We were all fascinated not only by the amount of wildlife, but the island itself had a special charm that could be sensed as we strolled the tranquil coastline full of sea lions. We then decided to call it a day and returned back to our good ship Islander, only to enjoy a captivating sunset - and why not, a well deserved cocktail!
Our day started with our landing to one of the largest cities in the Galápagos Islands, Pto Ayora. This is the place where long ago, a group of Norwegians decided to establish and formed a village. This was the first successful attempt to colonize Galápagos back in the late 1920’s.
Now, Pto Ayora is a vibrant village with more than fifteen thousand inhabitants (mostly Ecuadorians) who are hard working people, dedicated to mainly tourism. This city was also our gateway to get to see the most emblematic species in the Galápagos, the giant tortoises. After a nice walk in the opening fields of the highlands, each one of our guests had counted more than twenty giant tortoises in a close range, either from the bus or as we were strolling along the dense vegetation that covers part of the highlands of Santa Cruz.
In the afternoon, another “wild hi” was presented, North Seymour Island. This rather small island has the most incredible variation of species in one single spot. From blue footed boobies, frigate birds and swallow tailed gulls to reptile species such as lava lizards and land iguanas.
We were all fascinated not only by the amount of wildlife, but the island itself had a special charm that could be sensed as we strolled the tranquil coastline full of sea lions. We then decided to call it a day and returned back to our good ship Islander, only to enjoy a captivating sunset - and why not, a well deserved cocktail!
