Isla Santa Cruz Travel Guide

 MalenaN Says:  The Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) is a small plover that is quite common in the Galapagos Islands. It is a migrant bird, but it can be seen year round on the islands. It mostly occurs in the shore zone, on sandy beaches or by small lagoons, but it can also be... 

 MalenaN Says:  The Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) is common in Galapagos Islands, but it is a migrant bird that prefers breading in the colder northern climates of North America, Europe and Asia. In the Galapagos it can often be found along sandy beaches, by lagoons and tidal pools.The... 

 MalenaN Says:  There is not a great number of insect species in the Galapagos Islands, but only something over a thousand. There are 22 species of grasshoppers and one of them is the endemic Galapagos Flightless Grasshopper (Halemus robustus), a small grasshopper without wings.The... 

 MalenaN Says:  The Galapagos Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus wollebaeki) is an endemic subspecies. It is common, and there is a population of about 50 000 Sea Lions in the Galapagos Islands. They can be seen in many places near the shores, on beaches, on the rocks or even in the towns... 

 MalenaN Says:  The Short-eared Owl in Galapagos Islands is an endemic subspecies, Asio flammeus galapagoensis. It is found on most islands and usually in open land and grassland. There are around 9000 Short-eared Owls in Galapagos.The name Short-eared Owl comes from the fact that there are... 

 MalenaN Says:  The Barn Owl on Galapagos Islands is an endemic subspecies, Tyto alba punctatissima. It is quite uncommon and there are around 9000 Barn Owls on the islands. They occur both in the lowlands and in the highlands and can be found on Isla Santa Cruz, Isla San Cristóbal, Isla... 

 MalenaN Says:  On Galapagos Islands you will find an endemic subspecies of the White-cheeked Pintail, also called Galapagos Pintail (Ana bahamensis galapagensis). It is quite common and it can be found both in highland pools and lowland lagoons and mangrove swamps. The White-cheeked... 

 MalenaN Says:  The brown Pelican can be found in many areas along the American Pacific and Atlantic coasts, but on Galapagos Islands you will find the endemic subspecies Pelecanus occidentalis urinator. They can be found by the coast on most islands.The Brown Pelicans are large birds with... 

 MalenaN Says:  The beautiful Sally Lightfoot crabs (Grapsus grapsus) can be seen all over the shores of the Galapagos Islands. With its bright orange colour it stands out from the black lava rocks where you often see them. The young ones are dark in colour though, and this make them well... 

 DennyP Says:  When travelling here on the Equator there were a few things that I found that were neccesary to Carry. The sun can be really unforgiving here and it is a must to use a strong sunscreen when in the strong sunshine. I found that most Islands that I visited had very little... 

 MalenaN Says:  The Black-neck Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) is a graceful wader which can be seen in shallow pools of saline water or freshwater. It can be found on several of the Galapagos islands, in the lowlands near the coasts. The Black-necked stilt is also found in many other parts of... 

 MalenaN Says:  The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) can be seen on most big islands of the Galapagos (you can also see them in the West Indies and North- and Central America). The Great Blue Heron is a wader and when you see one it will probably be near shallow water, where they are often... 

 malianrob Says:  These are also refered to as the craters. They are two sunken volcanic craters that you can see on the road that takes you from the ferry and the town of Puerto Ayora.It is pretty interesting to see these but most of the time you will have to go with a guide or you wont be... 

 malianrob Says:  After we went to Rancho Primisias to look at the turtles in the wild or taxi driver took us to The tunnels. They are tunnels formed from the lava. It was pretty interesting but I was alittle nervous at first. Our taxi driver Aureliano told us that there was a small section... 

 malianrob Says:  The Park is free and its a short walk from the center of town. Here you will get to see the Giant turtles. Like Lonesome George who is about 130 years old now or more. There are baby turtles and iguanas. Marine Iguanas and land iguanas.You can also get a tour in English or... 

 malianrob Says:  Tortuga Bay is on the Southern part of the island. You can get to the entrance by taxi or walk like we did. Then you get to an area where you can only get to by foot. From there on it is a 2kilometer walk. It is a pretty long walk, especially in the heat of the islands. The... 

 MalenaN Says:  Before coming to Galapagos I had read that it is good to buy the ticket for the speedboat a day in advance during high season. As I visited in July and was going to be aboard a boat the day before my departure I was a bit worried not to get a ticket, but the travel agent I...