Mosquero Island

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Geo: -2.15882, -79.8981

An unusually low tide this morning meant we were unable to land on the exposed rocks of this little island. Instead we motored along the cliffs of Seymour Island, spotting what we could.

Hanzel said that Santa Cruz Island is the place to go to see large tortoises in the wild. They are abundant in the highlands there. The islands we've visited have generally been small and low. Isabella has the largest tortoises.

Avianca A320 to Guayaquil. 90min flight time, landed at 1330. We checked in to the very plush Hotel Oro Verde and did a little city exploring in the afternoon.

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Photos

Watch out crabs!
The heron is one of the few Galapagos birds that preys on crabs. This one is waiting for the soft-shelled, juvenile black crabs to come within range. It stood there, absolutely motionless, for several minutes.

Plaza de las Iguanas
Or you could just go to this park in Guayaquil... The iguanas tolerated (didn't seem to notice, even) their tails being pulled and lifted.

Guayaquil riverfront
The city of 3.5M is a contrast of attractive modern buildings and crappy looking back streets. There was a large park/public space along the riverfront that was very well patronised by well dressed locals, promenading on a Sunday afternoon.

Victoria Cafe
A nice spot along the riverfront. I had an excellent avocado and prawn salad. And Robyn a fish ceviche.

Nice food....
A four-layered cappuccino?