There are few places on this Earth that leave you incapable of expressing the level of excitement you feel. The Galapagos Islands are exactly that kind of a place, and sometimes a Galapagos baby oystercatcher is all you need as a cherry to top off the proverbial Galapagos cake (as you’ll find out in this blog post). Expectations jump upon glimpsing the bright blue waters and the underlying deep-blue tones of the ocean in the Galapagos from the airplane, so much that many guests often say automatically know they’re in for a wonderful trip upon seeing the Enchanted Isles from above.
With wide-open stretches of beach, surreal landscapes, exotic animals, and laidback islanders, the question is never what will captivate you in the Galapagos rather, what won’t captivate you in the Galapagos? The archipelago is full of wonders around every corner. And it always will be!
New Arrivals at the Enchanted Isles
17 islands (14 of which can be visited) and a massive array of iconic and spectacular species is how the enchanted isles live up to their name, thanks in large part to the remarkable world they hold. Animals will walk right up to your toes, landscapes will mesmerize you just like some sort of dream, and even the local island life might spark your interest in moving to the islands. Who knows?
The fun starts to brew the moment all our guests come aboard and get acquainted with their new home for the next couple of days. Their ecstatic energy is almost tangible when, during the evening, our expedition leader briefs all of our new guests about what we will be doing and seeing in the coming days aboard the Santa Cruz II Galapagos Cruise.
Our first morning over on Santa Cruz Island has us experiencing our first (and wet) landing on the clear waters of paradise. Afterward, we take a stroll along the beautiful Bachas Beach while keeping our eyes open for flamingos. Our guests don’t hesitate to get their toes wet and take a little dip in the water during this stroll.
Following our little dip in the ocean, we head on over to a nearby lagoon which, unfortunately, does not have any flamingos or “pink ladies” present. We compensate by heading over to our second lagoon and – bingo! – we immediately spot a flamingo walking along the lagoon not too far from where we are. This is the first one of the Big15 species that we’ve spotted!
Galapagos Baby Oystercatcher Spotted!
And as we’re leaving the lagoon, something amazing happens right before our very eyes – so tiny that we barely even noticed. We all collectively gasp as we realize and see that there’s a tiny Galapagos baby oystercatcher standing on a rock right in front of us this whole time, almost completely distracted by the flamingo! And its also just so tiny that we almost missed it completely!
It stood there – beautifully pivoting its small little body, soft feathers, and pale red beak – as if on display. Our guests couldn’t believe just how close they were to it! It was a real gem of a sight to behold and only helped to raise our level of excitement for what was to come while appreciating just how awesome this place really is. It was wildlife and Galapagos flora at its purest!
