When I was at the highest point of the island I was 824 meters above sea level looking over the exotic 380.7 square miles of terrain. First I visited Puerto Ayora, then Bellavista, and my last stop was Santa Rosa. Puerto Ayora is the city with the largest population located on the southern coast of the island in Academy Bay; it also is where I started my Galapagos tour.
Just north of Puerto Ayora is Bellavista. Bellavista has the second largest population and is known for its lava tubes. Lava tubes are natural tunnels within a solidified lava flow, formerly occupied by flowing molten lava leaving a cave. These lava tubes are quite the attraction for tourists, and since most of the tubes are on private property the owners charge a small fee to wander the miles of dark and rippled tunnels. Both Bellavista and Santa Rosa have lava tubes. Santa Rosa is located in the highlands of the island, northwest of Bellavista and Puerto Ayora. Up there it is mostly farming community so not much goes on but it is still a great place to go explore the vegetation. While on the island, I visited the Darwin Research Station, Grietas, Garrapatero, Los Gemelos, Black Turtle Cove, and Whale Bay.
The Darwin Research Station is a must when you visit the Galapagos. It is an active research station performing conservation and marine research. Later we went to Grietas which is an amazing place to explore the waters. It is a place to swim between two cliffs and look down at the cliffside through the pristine turquoise waters. Next was Garrapatero beach. Garrapatero beach is a beautiful white beach with a lagoon where you can find flamingos and white-cheeked pintail ducks. Our next location was Los Gemelos, my favorite. Los Gemelos are twin "craters" that were once underground magma craters. These craters have been overtaken by the surrounding jungle and now grow in the middle of each of the land forms. Black Turtle Cove was a very memorable experience. The cove itself is a mangrove estuary where sea turtles feed and mate. It is not only a place for turtles but also for three different species of sharks, black-tipped reef sharks, white-tipped reef sharks, and galapagos sharks can be found roaming the calm waters. Whale Bay is a very unique beach on Santa Cruz. This beach has ceramic objects that a made to resemble the ones that littered the beach in 1846. Tortoises used to inhabit the beach a long time ago but it is suspected that the tortoises were either taken by whalers or consumed by the ancient inhabitants. What is the most important out of these locations to conserve? Why?
Bibliography
HMS Indefatigable
Galapagos Conservancy
Galapagos Park
Redmangrove
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