Santa Cruz Island
After a nice, smooth navigation last night, we arrived early this morning at Academy Bay off the island of Santa Cruz. Puerto Ayora, the largest town in Galápagos is located here as well as the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS).
After breakfast we went ashore to visit the rearing center for tortoises and land iguanas; where we learned about the conservation and education programs run by the Galápagos National Park and the Darwin Center. We were lucky to see the famous “Lonesome George” and his two girlfriends from Isabela Island. We also had a chance to see another tortoise named Diego; he comes from Española Island and shares his corral with five females. He has been so “active”, that most of the eggs at the CDRS come from his corral!
After visiting the Darwin Center we headed over to the main part town where we walked along the streets of Puerto Ayora. We had a lot of fun, observing and sharing the lifestyle of this colorful town. The local shops were all very happy to see us.
Next we headed up to the highlands, where we explored a lava tunnel and had lunch at “El Chato,” a local restaurant by request only, where a magnificent view of the highlands and the coastal area could be observed. After lunch our luck took us precisely where the giant tortoises in the wild could be found. We found several of them, maybe a bit more than fifty! We also observed some birds such as white cheek pintail ducks, finches, doves, warblers and of course the gorgeous volcanic landscape.
After a little while, we drove even higher in the highlands and visited the pit craters or “Los Gemelos”. We found a very busy woodpecker finch, tree and warbler finches, and the endemic Galápagos giant daisies or Scalesia trees.
We returned to the National Geographic Islander where we shared our experiences of the day.
After a nice, smooth navigation last night, we arrived early this morning at Academy Bay off the island of Santa Cruz. Puerto Ayora, the largest town in Galápagos is located here as well as the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS).
After breakfast we went ashore to visit the rearing center for tortoises and land iguanas; where we learned about the conservation and education programs run by the Galápagos National Park and the Darwin Center. We were lucky to see the famous “Lonesome George” and his two girlfriends from Isabela Island. We also had a chance to see another tortoise named Diego; he comes from Española Island and shares his corral with five females. He has been so “active”, that most of the eggs at the CDRS come from his corral!
After visiting the Darwin Center we headed over to the main part town where we walked along the streets of Puerto Ayora. We had a lot of fun, observing and sharing the lifestyle of this colorful town. The local shops were all very happy to see us.
Next we headed up to the highlands, where we explored a lava tunnel and had lunch at “El Chato,” a local restaurant by request only, where a magnificent view of the highlands and the coastal area could be observed. After lunch our luck took us precisely where the giant tortoises in the wild could be found. We found several of them, maybe a bit more than fifty! We also observed some birds such as white cheek pintail ducks, finches, doves, warblers and of course the gorgeous volcanic landscape.
After a little while, we drove even higher in the highlands and visited the pit craters or “Los Gemelos”. We found a very busy woodpecker finch, tree and warbler finches, and the endemic Galápagos giant daisies or Scalesia trees.
We returned to the National Geographic Islander where we shared our experiences of the day.
