Santa Cruz, Galapagos

How do I even begin to describe a place that I have waited a lifetime to see? I was totally taken aback since I have studied and learned so much about the islands of the Galapagos and my first impression was absolutely nothing like what I had envisioned. We landed safely (Thank God!) in Santa Cruz and it was arid and dry. The vegetation was full of prickly pear cactus. I envisioned a more lush, equatorial, tropical island chain but with some of the islands reflecting more of the volcanic beginnings. Instead, I saw the harsh environment of being out in the middle of the ocean having a huge impact on the islands.
Santa Cruz was in fact arid and appeared desolate and remote. It was covered with Prickly pear cactus and then we drove to the other side of the island. It was almost as if you could draw a line and see the differences between the island botanical differences. As we drove, we could see the change from arid and dry to green and lush.
The wildlife in the Galapagos enjoy a unique existence of being protected. You notice this in their reaction to people. They do not move out of the way or run away from humans! We could get very close to the wildlife and it is so wonderful to see that people have not destroyed such a beautiful habitat.