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Even though the Galapagos Islands are a wild location, as Santa Cruz II Galapagos Cruise guides and photographers, we often grow very accustomed to the sights and sounds of each tour. But Mother Nature has her capricious way of surprising us with small things, reminding us that there is no law or authority in this vast and unspoiled wilderness. Follow our blog to receive a behind-the-scenes peek at our selection of unique Galapagos Island moments.
An Unusual Greeter
At our first tourist site on North Seymour Island, the first surprise of the journey was waiting for us. The scenario becomes even more dramatic when we realize that what we witnessed was close to the spot where we were disembarking. One of our visitors was the first to notice it and then directed the others to see it.
A red-footed booby, one of our esteemed BIG15 group of iconic species, was perched on a neighboring tree at the edge of the cliff overlooking our disembarkation spot! It was too far away to have a close-up look, but it was still visible, and we could even capture a passable photo of it. Although some individuals of this species live in North Seymour, this was the first time I had ever seen one in two years, and I had visited this tourist location!
A Stinky Welcome
On the third day of our voyage, we spotted the second odd object off the shore of Isabela Island, near Urbina Bay. We all noticed something on the rocks as we approached our designated landing site at the beach in our dinghies, often known as pangas here. When we came closer, we saw that the large red splotch on the stones was a dead whale!
One of our naturalist guides carefully examined it from a distance and concluded it was a pilot whale. It was never a beautiful sight, but we don’t know much about what happened to it—whether it was dead in the ocean and the tide and current just carried it ashore or got caught on the rocks. Additionally, it had a horrible stink that would occasionally be taken by the wind up to our panga, leaving us all yearning for clean air.
Last Star of Our Unusual Moments in the Galapagos Islands: A Sneaky Resident
What we witnessed later in Urbina Bay, along the trail near the beach where the hike begins, constituted the third and final component of our extraordinary moments in the Galapagos Islands. It was a black feline!
A wild cat was hiding in the shadows between the branches, expertly blending in with the trees. It was just sitting there, staring at us, not doing anything. We then recorded this occurrence and informed the Galapagos National Park so that they might concentrate their efforts on these more obscure, smaller places. The population of invasive species is being managed by the Galapagos National Park gradually but steadily, but occasionally, certain species are more hardy than others!
