Galapagos Scrapbook: Red Mangrove Hotel

Red Mangrove Hotel is the only place you'll want to be during your stay on Santa Cruz Island.

Red Mangrove Hotel is a little spot situated on Santa Cruz Island that we were fortunate enough to stay in during the filming of Galapagos Evolution. It is right on the water and features a huge lanai covered in resting marine iguanas with outdoor tables to lunch on and lounge chairs as entertainment. These lounge chairs are so entertaining because they feature a handful of Galapagos sea lions who have decided these are their nap spots and playfully fight over them all day long. This funny sight starts in the morning. The sea lions return from their night of hunting and one by one climb up the stairs that lead to the water and claim their chair. Now there are only two lounge chairs and a ton of sea lions who visit this spot everyday, so it's like a never ending round of musical chairs as new sea lions join.

Morning at Red Mangrove Hotel.

I really like this hotel because none of these animals are put here or encouraged to come here with food or any other kind of incentive. They're simply here. The hotel doesn't chase them away, they're welcomed and adored by visitors. There are not a lot of places in the world where you get to experience wildlife on their terms when visiting a country and it had me waking up before dawn, grabbing coffee, and posting up outside at the tables to watch it all unfold, surrounded by the sounds of Galapagos.

To see more you can now get Galapagos Evolution on iTunes, Amazon, Vimeo On Demand, and Google Play! It is directed by Roberto Ochoa He, narrated by Pierre-Yves Cousteau, and features fellow free divers Ocean Ramsey, Juan Oliphant, Guillaume Nery, Diran Devletian, the amazing scuba diver Leo Morales, and biologist Pelayo Salinas.

It was shot aboard the Nortada vessel with the Cressi team.