Our first stop on Tuesday the 26th was a beach on the north shore of Santa Cruz island. We started on this beach, and then walked to Las Bachas. On the way, we saw much wildlife, including our friend El Canario María:
Yellow Warbler
We saw our first of many Lava Lizards:
Lava Lizard
Lava Lizard
Lava Lizard
Lava Lizard
And the ever-present Sally Lightfoot Crab and Frigatebird:
Sally Lightfoot Crab
Frigatebird
Las Bachas beach is named after "las bachas" - remains of barges abandoned by the US at the end of WWII that floated to the beach and have remained there rusting ever since:
Group at Las Bachas
Las Bachas
On the way back, we stopped by a salt lake where flamingos can be found (we did not find one). However, we did find other things, including a Marine Iguana bathing:
Marine Iguana
Various shorebirds were in and around the lake:
Black-necked Stilts
Black-necked Stilt
Sanderling and Plover
Sanderling taking wing
Plover and Sanderling
Whimbrel
We returned to the original beach, where many of our party went snorkeling. Jill and I, however, stayed on shore to watch birds and other wildlife. We were rewarded! Many Sally Lightfoot crabs:
Sally Lightfoot Crab
Sally Lightfoot Crab
A nice little Lava Heron (I think):
Lava Heron
Lava Heron
Lava Heron
Several Brown Pelicans floating through:
Brown Pelican
Brown Pelican
Brown Pelican
Brown Pelican
A Great Blue Heron coming in for the evening:
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
More Yellow Warblers and finches:
Yellow Warbler
Darwin Finch
Our first Galápagos Flycatcher (we would see more on a subsequent island):
Galápagos Flycatcher
Another Whimbrel:
Whimbrel
More Galápagos Plovers:
Galápagos Plover
Galápagos Plover
A Wandering Tattler:
Wandering Tattler
Wandering Tattler
Marine Iguanas:
Marine Iguana
And, of course, the elusive Bare-footed Jilly Bird:
Jill
Once everyone else was done snorkeling, we returned to the ship:
MV Origin
We got underway while we lunched:
Before we disembarked, I watched our hard-working crew unload a Panga. Much activity like this went on behind the scenes and we were not generally aware of it as passengers. This is sped up 6x.
Our destination for the afternoon was Cerro Dragón, "Dragon Hill", named because it looks somewhat like the head of a Land Iguana from some angles. Here it is from the beach:
Cerro Dragon
On the beach and the early part of our hike we found more of our friends the Marine Iguanas:
Marine Iguana
Marine Iguana
Marine Iguana
There were Boobys diving for food:
I found bumblebees in the foliage:
Bumblebee
And we found more Sanderlings:
Sanderling
As well as our sentinel, the Mockingbird:
Galápagos Mockingbird
It was a warm day, and the hike was through desert terrain. Always bring water and wear sun protection!
Hiking at Cerro Dragón
We were on the hunt for Land Iguanas. We found evidence of their existence, including tracks and a bone:
Land Iguana tracks (with people tracks)
Iguana Vertebra
And then we found what we were looking for - a nice big Land Iguana. Very different from the Iguanas seen on the mainland:
Land Iguana
Land Iguana
Land Iguana
Land Iguana
Land Iguana
Land Iguana
We saw five or six land iguanas that day.
We made it to the top of the hill and I stopped to take a panorama:
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