5 October 2011
Overnight we have travelled south and awake at Santa Fe Island. The contrast is enormous – this island is one of the oldest of the Galapagos group estimated to be at least 4 million years old. It is a small island covered in brush, palo santo trees and large prickly pear cactus. It has an endemic Santa Fe Land Iguana and an endemic Santa Fe Rice Rat, both of which we were lucky enough to see, along with a banded snake.
From there we travelled a relatively short distance to the Plazas Islands just off the east coast of Santa Cruz. Another sharp contrast awaited us. These tiny rocky islands are covered in spectacularly coloured ice plants and towering prickly pear cactus. The land iguanas are resplendent in yellow mating colours. We see swallow tail gulls feeding their chicks and spend a long time trying to photograph the red billed tropic birds. Another treat is in store for us when, from the tops of the cliffs, we see a strange shaped mass rolling in the waves. It turns out to be a turtle stack: when turtles are mating others apparently try to join in the action and it is not unusual to see three or more locked together.
That evening we have cocktails and roast dinner to commemorate our last night on the Monserrat and to celebrate our wonderful crew.
For similar trips see:
Explore South America with Intrepid Travel
(a range of different travel styles – see my post on travel styles)
Peregrine Adventures Travel Destinations (Comfort and independent tours)
Geckos Adventures (for 18 to 30s)
Note: After people telling me they had booked an Intrepid Tour on my recommendation, I now have affiliate links with the Intrepid Travel group of companies and may receive a commission if you book a tour online within a couple of months after clicking through to these sites. So if you are enjoying my tips and stories and finding them useful in choosing your own travel, please click on these links and help me to bring you more ☺.
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