South Plaza
South Plazas is a small—yet fascinating—island off the east coast of
Santa Cruz, where a wealth of unique features are concentrated within a
relatively short touring circuit. The island's interesting geology,
distinctive natural history, and incredible landscape panorama make it a
definitive highlight for cruise travelers.
After sidestepping the inevitable precocious sea lion on the jetty
landing point, visitors find themselves on a shore covered with white
rocks, polished to a brilliant sheen by sea lions' oily fur during
inter-coastal transit. Here at the head of the 1-km long interpretive
trail visitors may also catch a rare glimpse of the unusual land-marine
iguana hybrid, which has made its home on Santa Fe since 2003. An
opuntia cactus forest follows, providing glimpses of richly yellow land
iguanas munching on the cactus pads and fruit, and yellow warblers and
cactus finches perching on cactus spines. The trail continues along a
25-meter high cliff, where visitors will remain awestruck by the
impressionable landscape and seascape vistas. Those daring enough to
peek over the precipice will be rewarded with sights of seabirds, such
as red-billed tropicbirds, Audubon shearwaters, swallow-tailed gulls,
pelicans, and frigatebirds, nesting along the cliff and flying in the
wake as well as the occasional manta ray catapulting itself out of the
water. Further east along the trail is a sea lion bachelor colony, where
males defeated in the battle for territory feat the difficult climb up
the rocky crag to congregate, enjoying a bit of R&R and camaraderie
before returning to challenge for territory. The final part of the trail
passes through a distinct sea lion territory, where newborn pups or
juveniles may be seen playing.
The wildlife you will see on your Galapagos tour are completely
unaffected by Galapagos travel visitors . For this reason, there is a
restricted number of visitors permitted into the Galapagos each year, as
part of a joint effort to protect the delicate environmental and ecological
equilibrium. The most sensible method of Galapagos travel is via our cruise
ships. The M/V Galapagos Legend provides 3 night, 4 night and 7 night
cruises to select from, which can also be easily merged with Galapagos
travel visits to neighboring South American locations