13/11/23 : Leaving Isabela island and flying to Santa Cruz via Baltra island

 We left Isabela early in the morning, traveling to the third of our Islands of Santa Cruz. We flew in a small twin prop plane, seating six people,  to the island of Baltra which is an small island just off the coast of Santa Cruz, and the site of an old American airforce base which now serves as the main airport for Santa Cruz.  The flight took about 40 minutes and the plane so small Tracey sat in the co pilots seat while I was squeezed into the back!  The views were amazing and we landed safely without incident, grabbed our bags, met our guid and headed off for our ferry to Santa Cruz

This is the most populated island on the Galapagos with a population of 18,000 people 90% of which are in the main town of Puerto Ayora. The majority of the island like all of the islands is set to National Park and heavliy restricted, in order to protect the wildlife and environment, we were staying at the Finch Bay hotel which is just outside of Puerto Ayora and reached only by the hotels water taxi from the town. In order to get there however we got  a ferry from Baltra to Santa Cruz ( a 5 minute trip) then drove across the island for an hour, but along the way we stopped at Los Gemelos, some lava tube tunnels and a Tortoise sanctuary.

Los Gemelos was our first stop, this is the site of the twin collapsed lava chambers which have left behind enormous caverns, filled with rain forest and Scalesia trees. The wildlife here was mainly birds, Darwin Finches, Galapagos Doves, Flycatchers and Warblers. The walk took about 40 minutes and was like being in some prehistric landscape.

Leaving here we stopped for lunch at a Tortoise Sanctuary and large estate with grounds were the Tortoises roamed free, the road into the centre was a few miles long and everywhere you look these enormous creatures were roaming free, we stopped counting at a 100 but it was easily double that. Cattle Egrets were roaming with the Tortoises, along with the Warblers, Darwin Finches, Mocking birds and flycatchers.

After lunch we headed off to the hotel, but we stopped briefly to explore some lava tunnels hoping to see the Barn Owls that lived in them, sadly they were not to be found , so we left for Puerto Ayora counting more Tortoises as we went !

Once at the town, it had a different feel to the other islands we had been too, although only a small town in real terms it felt more commercial and busier than the others, but once we got our water taxi to the hotel the normal Galapagos returned and the walk to the hotel was through volcnic mangroves, with Marine Iguanas, Lava lizards and Lava Herons alnog the way. Great White Egrets were flying overhead and by the pool were six Lava Gulls ( one of the rarest birds on Earth). 

The hotels is right on the beach and in true Galapagos style was teaming in wildlife which was welcomed. The pool had Lava Gulls, Pintails and Herons in it and an American Oyster catcher sat by the bar next to a few Lava lizards. We settled into the total luxury that the hotel provided, had a superb meal and went to bed early to be ready for our expedition the next day which was to be a trip to the Darwin Reseach Centre followed by a trip around the coast, finishing with a snorkle trip in the Lava tunnels.