Santa Cruz and North Seymour Islands
We started our expedition in the early hours of the day, visiting the boundaries of the Galápagos Tortoises Reserve. It was here where we encountered both large males and females roaming in the evergreen highlands.
Right after our visit at the tortoise’s reserve, we headed down to explore a nearby lava tunnel formation. This typical geological formation is about half of a mile in length, and with the help of water filtration through the layers of lava rocks, minerals like calcium have formed tiny stalactites in some areas of the cavern. At the end of the tunnel, we reached the entrance of a restaurant where we enjoyed a well deserved, delicious breakfast - not to mention that the view from the restaurant itself was astonishing!
After visiting this marvelous place we headed down to Puerto Ayora city, where everyone had a chance to explore this growing metropolis, and of course do some shopping as well!
For the afternoon we reached North Seymour Island. This partly uplifted island was just teeming with life everywhere; baby sea lions were nursing, blue footed boobies were dancing and the most representative reptiles of the area, the land iguana, were looking for food through the salt bushes that grow along the coastline.
We also found several male magnificent frigate birds displaying their red gular pouches to practically every female flying overhead. Unfortunately, only very few males succeeded in earning the tough selection of the females. Those unlucky ones had to simply observe the happy couples and hope for better luck next time!
Selecting the proper mate as well as the best nesting area is very important for raising their offspring, that is why males invest a lot of time displaying their gular sacs, and there is usually a lot of competition to obtain the best nesting area as well as the best female.
As we made our way to the Islander, the sun started to set. It marveled us all with the magnificent displays of colors and shades, giving us the perfect last picture of the day…
We started our expedition in the early hours of the day, visiting the boundaries of the Galápagos Tortoises Reserve. It was here where we encountered both large males and females roaming in the evergreen highlands.
Right after our visit at the tortoise’s reserve, we headed down to explore a nearby lava tunnel formation. This typical geological formation is about half of a mile in length, and with the help of water filtration through the layers of lava rocks, minerals like calcium have formed tiny stalactites in some areas of the cavern. At the end of the tunnel, we reached the entrance of a restaurant where we enjoyed a well deserved, delicious breakfast - not to mention that the view from the restaurant itself was astonishing!
After visiting this marvelous place we headed down to Puerto Ayora city, where everyone had a chance to explore this growing metropolis, and of course do some shopping as well!
For the afternoon we reached North Seymour Island. This partly uplifted island was just teeming with life everywhere; baby sea lions were nursing, blue footed boobies were dancing and the most representative reptiles of the area, the land iguana, were looking for food through the salt bushes that grow along the coastline.
We also found several male magnificent frigate birds displaying their red gular pouches to practically every female flying overhead. Unfortunately, only very few males succeeded in earning the tough selection of the females. Those unlucky ones had to simply observe the happy couples and hope for better luck next time!
Selecting the proper mate as well as the best nesting area is very important for raising their offspring, that is why males invest a lot of time displaying their gular sacs, and there is usually a lot of competition to obtain the best nesting area as well as the best female.
As we made our way to the Islander, the sun started to set. It marveled us all with the magnificent displays of colors and shades, giving us the perfect last picture of the day…
