Santa Cruz Island
It is so much fun to dress up in costumes, it’s like being a kid again. It's a pretty close feeling to being in the Galápagos itself, because hiking up the hills, exploring endemic forests, and discovering unique creatures in the wild makes us feel like kids all the time. Since early in the morning we could sense the magic of Santa Cruz, the largest inhabited island in the Galápagos, with the gorgeous Academy Bay opening to the south. Here is where we anchored and viewed the highest peaks of this middle-age island. We met Lonesome George and Productive Diego, famous male tortoises of the Charles Darwin Research Station. We learned about the successful breeding programs for both land iguanas and tortoises, and also had the time to walk through Puerto Ayora, a lovely and picturesque town.
Many guests decided to take advantage of being in a non-National Park area of the island, to do exercise hikes and mountain biking. A swimming pool awaited them in the highlands as well as a fabulous lunch.
In the afternoon we explored a lava tunnel, found dozens of tortoises in the wild and walked through a forest of Scalesias, an endemic genus to the Galápagos Islands. With renewed energy we dressed up in costumes and celebrated Halloween on board National Geographic Polaris, with musicians from town and a nice dancing party.
It is so much fun to dress up in costumes, it’s like being a kid again. It's a pretty close feeling to being in the Galápagos itself, because hiking up the hills, exploring endemic forests, and discovering unique creatures in the wild makes us feel like kids all the time. Since early in the morning we could sense the magic of Santa Cruz, the largest inhabited island in the Galápagos, with the gorgeous Academy Bay opening to the south. Here is where we anchored and viewed the highest peaks of this middle-age island. We met Lonesome George and Productive Diego, famous male tortoises of the Charles Darwin Research Station. We learned about the successful breeding programs for both land iguanas and tortoises, and also had the time to walk through Puerto Ayora, a lovely and picturesque town.
Many guests decided to take advantage of being in a non-National Park area of the island, to do exercise hikes and mountain biking. A swimming pool awaited them in the highlands as well as a fabulous lunch.
In the afternoon we explored a lava tunnel, found dozens of tortoises in the wild and walked through a forest of Scalesias, an endemic genus to the Galápagos Islands. With renewed energy we dressed up in costumes and celebrated Halloween on board National Geographic Polaris, with musicians from town and a nice dancing party.
