Santa Cruz Island
Early in the morning we all woke up with the picturesque town of Puerto Ayora in the horizon. Today was dedicated in its totality to the beyond compare Galápagos Giant Tortoises. All our guests had high hopes to see the giant reptiles of the Galápagos in the wilderness. Right after breakfast we started our expedition. Santa Cruz Island is the base for the two main institutions that work as partners in the preservation of this enchanted archipelago. The Galápagos National Park Service, which is an Ecuadorian governmental organization, and the world-renowned Charles Darwin Research Station—both established in 1959. The latter institutions work together to collect, incubate, reproduce, repatriate and ultimately save from extinction some of the vanishing Galápagos Giant tortoises subspecies.
After disembarking at the Galápagos National Park dock and a short walk, we arrived to the Charles Darwin Research Station’s Tortoise Breeding Center. We admired the many juvenile little tortoises that, as adults, will repopulate the islands with their descendants. We saw the famous Lonesome George from Pinta Island. George is, unluckily, the last known individual from that remote island. Next in popularity and expectation was another famous tortoise individual, Diego. This tortoise lived in the San Diego Zoo for many decades after coming back to the Galápagos with the mission of saving his fading race creating competition and becoming the prolific father of hundreds of tortoises.
After visiting the Darwin Center we had the delight to stroll along the colorful streets of Puerto Ayora, capital of Santa Cruz Island to enjoy and take part of the routine activities of the community. The fishermen’s wharf is one of the most interesting places to visit. Today dozens of Brown pelicans were around the fishermen, who were cutting fish, with the hope to win a morsel. At around noon we went by bus to the highlands to continue with the planned activities if the day. Before lunch we made a brief but interesting stop before arriving to restaurant. We visited a sugar cane press, at Bellavista Town, where a local Galápagos family showed us how they process and make a living by growing sugar cane and coffee in their farm “Finca San Jose.” We even had time after this visit to cross a long lava tunnel that is strategically located for it finishes right in front of the restaurant’s entrance.
A strong and persistent tropical shower was our companion during lunch. The rain just stopped by the time we boarding the buses and we went to look for Galápagos giant tortoises in the wild. We had a great time photographing and observing several gentle giants that were all over the place.
In the evening, after dinner, visiting local dancers and musicians put a golden finale to this day in paradise with their cheerful music and choreographies. After the performance we all went to bed after this marvelous long day, a little tired perhaps, but with our hearts reloaded with new feelings that will stay in our minds forever.
