We flew from Guayaquil to Baltra (Santa Cruz) early the morning and arrived to be greeted by Jennifer, the Course Director (highest PADI dive rating) we had been emailing about the boat itinerary changes. She had organised transport to and from the airport and boat for the next day and even found somewhere for us to stay and hire our dive gear from – made it a nice easy journey.
As soon as we got off the plane we could notice something different about the landscapes and environment of Galapagos. Endemic Cactus trees everywhere, barren land and quick changing landscapes from lush forest to volcanic rock. The bus driver taking us into the town swerved around an iguana that was sunbathing on the road.- at the time we were told if anyone killed any of the animals on the island they would be in jail for 15 years!!!
As soon as we got to our room we went for a walk to explore the main tourist town of Santa Cruz. Within an hour of arriving we had already spotted an endemic iguana, marine iguanas, boobies, frigates, a massive eagle ray, sally lightfoot crabs, pelicans, finches…the list goes on. Even in the middle of the town there is an absolute abundance of wildlife.
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| Marine Iguana |
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| Sally Lightfoot Crabs |
Later in the evening we sorted out our gear rental and had an early night. The next day I got up early and had a bit of a walk around town. There were sleeping seals lying about the bay so I was able to get really close to a couple of them for a nice photo opportunity. Further around the bay some fisherman were gutting and cleaning some tuna they had caught in their boat. They were surrounded by Pelicans, Frigates, Boobies, a Egret, and a sea lion all vying for some of the fresh goodness…
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| The line for some fresh fish....The seals go where they please |
