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Published: February 29th 2016
Today we went out on the boat again, this time to Santa Fe Island. It took us about an hour and a half to motor over to the island. I know I found it very hard to stay awake as the Altamar rolled gently from side to side as she motored along into a head wind. I don't think that I was the only one who had a little snooze on the way either! On our way were were treated to sightings of some turtles and a couple of sea lions. When we arrived at the island our boat was able to pull into the sheltered bay very close to the sea lion colony.
We were ferried ashore again in the inflatable dinghy right onto the beach covered with lounging sea lions. Felipe pointed out the dominant male, the females and the seal pups. Most of the females were lazing about sunning themselves while the alpha male patrolled the beach and the pups frolicked in the shallows perfecting their swimming skills. Felipe gave us a very detailed explanation of the reproductive cycle of the sea lion. He also told us that sea lions differ from seals because as they evolved
into a sea mammal they retained the musculature in their front end that enables them to 'walk' on land on their front flippers. Seals are not able to do this.
From the beach we made our way up into the arid zone where we found cacti and the land iguanas that feed on them. Felipe gave us a lot of details about all of the land iguana variants, but it was very complicated and I have to admit that I did lose track a bit. Apparently DNA sampling proves that all the varieties of land iguana have evolved from one original species, but over time they have adapted to different habitats. We were very lucky to see some young iguanas because Felipe said that they are only rarely seen because they need to stay well hidden from the birds that eat them if they are to survive.
At the highest point of our walk we were watching some yellow iguanas. We saw one climb up into a small shrub only to be fought off by another iguana who was already in that tree. I was watching these iguanas with my new sunglasses on and I thought they looked
more reddish brown than yellow. I lifted my sunglasses up to wipe away the sweat and was amazed at the difference this made to the colour of the iguanas; they really were more yellowish green than reddish brown! There was also some bird life on Santa Fe Island; some frigate birds, some Galápagos doves and some mocking birds. Unfortunately we didn't spot a Santa Fe hawk though.
We returned to the beach and watched the sea lions a bit more before being ferried back to the boat. We took the opportunity to cool off before lunch with some swimming from the boat. Not being a great swimmer I was a bit nervous about swimming in deep water, but the water was very salty so I found that it was actually quite easy to stay afloat ... and very refreshing after the heat in the arid zone on Santa Fe island.
After lunch it was time to head back to Santa Cruz Island. I think most of us slept most of the way back!! The weather looked threatening all day today and finally our run of fine weather was broken as we were bussed to the centre of Santa
Cruz Island. Although we left this morning from Puerto Ayora we returned to the Itabaca Canal because our luggage was transferred to the amazing Royal Palm Hotel in the Santa Cruz highlands during the day. We were lucky that the weather held as long as it did. As we sailed towards Santa Fe Island in the morning there was an ominous looking cloud hanging over it and we thought our visit to the island was going to be a wet one, but the fine weather held. As we sailed back to Santa Cruz we could see that the highlands were shrouded in mist and we thought it was going to be wet.
We really didn't care about the rain because we were all so overawed by the sumptuous Royal Palm Hotel. After a complimentary drink in the foyer we were escorted to our villas - yes, villas not mere hotel rooms! When we reached our villa we found we had four rooms to spread ourselves out in; a lounge room with an open fireplace, a spa room, a huge bathroom - with a rain shower that was practically another room of its own - and a king size bedroom.
Wow!
After freshening up we headed back up to the bar/restaurant to meet Meredith for a pre-dinner drink. We encountered Meredith coming up the path from her villa so she invited us in to have a look at the Royal 'Duke of York' Villa that she had been allocated. Very, very nice indeed with a much larger lounge than ours and an enormous king sized four poster bed on a raised plinth. Her bathroom was very similar to ours but, rather than an indoor spa room, her villa came with an outdoor spa.
Up at the bar Meredith and Bernie ordered beers and I ordered a Kahlua and Coke because I could see they had two bottles of Kahlua on the shelf. Hmmn, this was a first, the bar had Kahlua BUT NO COCA-COLA. What??!! Ah well, I can drink it straight up on the rocks! Gradually the other members of the group made their way up to the bar and kept the bar tender busy with the drink orders. After the group ahead of us had finished their meals we were ushered into the dining room for dinner. We had birthday cake for dessert again tonight in
honour of Kim's birthday. Her birthday is actually tomorrow, but since we will be travelling all day Gina arranged a cake for tonight.
Steps for the day 5,603 (4.26km)
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Caroline Brunner
non-member comment
What a voyage.
Thanks for sharing the Galapagos Tracey & Bernie. I've only heard from people who have been there for only a day or two whereas you've been blessed with more days and more places visited than [I've been told] usual! And you were lucky with the weather too. Looking forward to hearing about your next port of call. Caroline