We flew from Quito to Santa Cruz island in the Galapagos in the hope of finding a last minute cruise deal to discover island wild life. Thanks to a tip given to us by a Irish couple that we had met in Nicaragua, we knew who to talk to first. We went to the Morning Glory hostel to look for Daniel, whose brother works as a guide on cruise ships. Daniel had found a nice last minute cruise for the Irish couple. No longer than half an hour after our arrival in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz island had we secured a cruise on a 16 passenger yacht that was going to leave from San Cristobal island 4 days later. Getting a 50% discount on this cruise made our day. We therefore had four days to explore Santa Cruz island on our own before boarding for the cruise. We took a walk to Tortuga Bay, went to the highlands to observe giant tortoises in the wild, walked through the Laguna de las Ninfas, and explored Puerto Ayora small town. Here are the pictures. We had a great time.
Baby sharks coming in the harbor at night to eat little fish visible thanks to the bright lights
Our neighbor is harvesting his coconuts! Do you see him at the top of the tree. Dangerous operation!
Walk to Tortuga Bay
Look at these beautiful cacti!
Marine iguanas
Love these cacti
Observing giant tortoises in the Highlands - in the wild!
Simply gigantic :))
Back to Puerto Ayora - Exploring the laguna de las Ninfas
Mangrove
Spotted eagle ray in the water
Human-turtle chimera - the Galapagos keep amazing us!
Lobster birthday dinner ahead
of time....yumm!
