Day 2, Isla Plaza Sur, Isla Santa Fe

This was our first full day in Galapagos, and a fine day it was. We spent the first part of the morning hiking on South Plaza Island, where the most memorable sites were the bachelor colony of sea lions, the land iguanas and the cactus. The sea lions originated in California, and are much smaller than the ones seen in my native British Columbia. The bachelors, otherwise known as "losers", are basically relegated to an area where there is a very steep cliff. They have been shunned from the main colony located where the pangas land, because of a lack of mating opportunities there; it seems the beachmaster keeps his harem on a very tight leash. As for the numerous land iguanas on the island, they rely on cactus pads for their diet; cactus trees also provide them with shade from the sun and heat.

In the afternoon, we snorkeled off of North Plaza Island, starting off with a rather treacherous first attempt at body surfing over a reef, before steaming to Santa Fe Island, where once again we hiked, this time from one beach to another, observing sea lions, finches, a rice rat, nesting Galapagos hawks, and blue-footed boobies in the process. The Galapagos hawk is the top predator in Galapagos.

Three quarters of the world's blue-footed boobies live in Galapagos. They engage in an amazing courtship dance, whereby the male raises his foot and skypoints. The higher the foot is raised, the more the female is aroused, and the better the male's chances to find a mate. If the female is attracted, she counters, mirroring the male's every move.

On our snorkeling expedition, we saw a goood sampling of the 500 or so species of fish extant in Galapagos, including especially king angel fish and schools of yellow-tail surgeon fish. I also saw my first white-tipped reef shark!

What strikes me most about this place is how tame the wildlife is, and how various species seem to peacefully coexist alongside one an other. There is very little evidence of predation.

Monday night we steamed towards Espanola Island. I hardly slept a wink.