Santa Fe & South Plaza
On arrival at Santa Fe we are greeted by the sight of a female Galapagos sea lion struggling to give birth. It is a longer and harder labour than that of the elephant seal I saw in South Georgia, but she succeeds in delivering a live pup, and immediately sets about teaching it to climb over the rocks to get to the beach.
This afternoon we finally have some decent snorkelling, complete with white-tipped sharks! These gentle two metre sharks with delicate white points are too busy looking for a spot in the bay at South Plaza to be bothered by snorkelers.
South Plaza is also home to the hybrid iguana – where marina iguanas and land iguanas have bred and produce offspring that dies before reaching maturity. The offspring show the traits of both species, but look a trifle odd with the colourings of both land and marine iguanas.
Late in the afternoon there is a half decent sunset- they are hard to come by in the Galapagos as the sky clouds over in mid-afternoon. The Lindblad/National Geographic Endeavour is anchored at North Seymour for the evening, along with a few boats from the Gap Adventures stable.
