GALAPAGOS 2010: South Plaza

Our final Galapagos blog installment takes us to South Plaza, a tiny island off the coast of Santa Cruz. Covered in sesuvium that was changing color to conserve water, the island looked like an Autumn landscape.

The Opuntia or Prickly Pear Cactus is abundant here and is the staple food for the Galapagos Land Iguana.

The Land Iguanas, when not feeding on the cactus, find warmth on the rocks… especially today since the sun has not yet found its way through the fog.

A young sea lion lay silent waiting for a mother that may never come back. He looked too thin to have fed on her milk any time recent.

 A molting Lava Gull wandered the shoreline seemingly unable to fly.

Swallow-tailed Gulls, some with young, patrolled the cliffs on the south side of the island. All they had to do to take flight was open their wings and the wind lifted them up… effortless take-off!

South Plaza was not our final stop… we also went to Santa Fe where we had a wonderful snorkeling opportunity, but my underwater Sanyo camera had leaked and was unusable. Too bad, because we had at least 30 Spotted Eagle Rays swimming around us along with a few Black-tipped Sharks. A great end to a wonderful trip.

We departed that afternoon to San Cristobal, common Dolphins riding our bow waves from time to time…