Today we started our exploration at the northwest end of Santa Cruz Island. Our first excursion of the day was to a visitor site of the National Park known as Cerro Dragon, named after the Galapagos land iguanas. After our breakfast, we disembarked on a rocky coast that took us to a trail by the coast. The morning was spectacular, blue skies and sunny day were our companions during this hike. On the coast we spotted several marine iguanas sun basking on the green carpet mat plant creating perfect photo opportunities. Further on we walked by a brackish lagoon that took us to the land iguanas territory. At this site, we had the help of our younger explorers, who helped us to locate many land iguanas. After learning about the ecology and biology of these endemic reptiles, we climbed to the top of a small hill to take in an amazing view of Santiago Island and a group of small satellites islets known as Guy Fawkes, named after the British man that planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
Later in the morning, we had two optional activities. Shallow and deep water snorkeling were offered to our guests. On the deep water snorkel the conditions were very good, with calm water and good visibility allowing us the freedom to explore the marine life. In the water we spotted many different species of colorful reef fish such as parrots, damsels, surgeons, and creoles fish. Sea lions were part of the experience as well, and even a huge manta ray appeared from the deep surrounding waters. It was a great excursion.
After our Ecuadorian lunch in the afternoon, we heard a very interesting talk about “Natural Selection, Sexual Selection and the evolution of Island Lizards” given by Ryan Calsbeek from the Dartmouth College Alumni Association. Later in the afternoon, we circumnavigated around one of the most famous islets, called Daphne Mayor. Several British scientists have been studying Darwin finches here for over 40 years, measuring the changes in the sizes of the beak of the finches affected by the different environmental conditions each year, which is something that Darwin was never able to. What a great way to finish another memorable day in this magical place.
