Santa Cruz Island
We woke up this morning surrounded by a nice gentle breeze, beautiful bright blue sky, and the smooth motion of the rolling seas in Academy Bay. We visited Santa Cruz Island, the second largest island in the archipelago and home of the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS). Our goal this morning was to see Galápagos giant tortoises, both in the wild and in captivity. At CDRS, we observed these emblematic animals. Some were sunbathing while others were seen resting under the bushes.
After our visit at the Station, we headed to the town of Puerto Ayora. Walking along the streets of this town, we found the fishermen’s market. Several brown pelicans there were waiting for some fish leftovers, others were trying to have the audacity of stealing some fish directly from the baskets. Some lava gulls were seen flying above and also seemed interested in what was happening at the fish market.
We left town a bit before noon and headed to the highlands for lunch and to look for wild tortoises. Around this area, we found several females, juveniles and some large males feeding on vegetation, while others were drinking fresh water from a small pond. We observed several species of birds such as the three species of ground finches, a wood pecker finch, yellow warblers, dark billed cuckoo, Galápagos mockingbirds, and white cheeked pin tailed ducks.
After looking for tortoises, we drove further up to the forest of the Galápagos giant daisies. Once there, we explored the place looking for Galápagos orchids, which are in full bloom right at this moment. We found small tree finches, warbler finches and several Galápagos doves as we walked around this amazing place.
At the end of our day we headed down to the town of Puerto Ayora, where we found the locals celebrating the creation of the Galápagos Marine reserve. Many young people from local schools were performing local music and dance from Ecuador.
We left Santa Cruz and its town behind and are now on our way to Isabela Island on the western side of the archipelago. We are very happy for all the things we saw and learned today.
What a wonderful day!
We woke up this morning surrounded by a nice gentle breeze, beautiful bright blue sky, and the smooth motion of the rolling seas in Academy Bay. We visited Santa Cruz Island, the second largest island in the archipelago and home of the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS). Our goal this morning was to see Galápagos giant tortoises, both in the wild and in captivity. At CDRS, we observed these emblematic animals. Some were sunbathing while others were seen resting under the bushes.
After our visit at the Station, we headed to the town of Puerto Ayora. Walking along the streets of this town, we found the fishermen’s market. Several brown pelicans there were waiting for some fish leftovers, others were trying to have the audacity of stealing some fish directly from the baskets. Some lava gulls were seen flying above and also seemed interested in what was happening at the fish market.
We left town a bit before noon and headed to the highlands for lunch and to look for wild tortoises. Around this area, we found several females, juveniles and some large males feeding on vegetation, while others were drinking fresh water from a small pond. We observed several species of birds such as the three species of ground finches, a wood pecker finch, yellow warblers, dark billed cuckoo, Galápagos mockingbirds, and white cheeked pin tailed ducks.
After looking for tortoises, we drove further up to the forest of the Galápagos giant daisies. Once there, we explored the place looking for Galápagos orchids, which are in full bloom right at this moment. We found small tree finches, warbler finches and several Galápagos doves as we walked around this amazing place.
At the end of our day we headed down to the town of Puerto Ayora, where we found the locals celebrating the creation of the Galápagos Marine reserve. Many young people from local schools were performing local music and dance from Ecuador.
We left Santa Cruz and its town behind and are now on our way to Isabela Island on the western side of the archipelago. We are very happy for all the things we saw and learned today.
What a wonderful day!
