The day started with a hike to the nesting areas of the land iguanas of Santa Cruz. The landing took place on a shallow, rocky shore that would lead us through the intertidal zone, exposed due to the low tide. The marine iguanas amazed us with their beauty as they crossed the field of carpetweed in order to get to the algae. The beach that we walked along rapidly became crowded with many more hungry marine iguanas.
We hiked to the top of a small hill and saw the surrounding areas, which are soft soiled and the best type of grounds for the nesting land iguanas. As the hot season has arrived, these iguanas have already started their nesting and baby iguanas can be seen around. These small, vulnerable, newborn reptiles are extremely hard to spot in the middle of the bush and tall grass. However, we had the incredible opportunity to find one that was right next to the trail, hanging on the branches of a tall bush.
Finally, we found a bunch of land iguanas laying on the trail, hiding from the sun.
The morning ended with a refreshing and exciting snorkel on a beautiful rock formation out in the sea. Sharks, sea lions, and a group of spotted eagle rays made our day.
In the afternoon we kayaked around a big islet near Santa Cruz Island, and also had the chance to explore its surroundings from our Zodiacs. Seeing the sunset from the sundeck of National Geographic Endeavour II ended our beautiful day.
