Santa Cruz Island
We arrived early in the morning to the second largest island in this magical archipelago. The anchorage site was difficult, but that was something that did not stop us. We got everybody ready and the only comment you heard in the crowd was, “Today are the tortoises! Lonesome George is waiting for us!”
Once we landed on the municipal pier, we all headed to the headquarters of the National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station. The first stop in the rearing center had us all captivated by the innocence of the baby tortoises moving from one corner to the other. Not far from the little ones was another enclosure with larger hatchlings and they looked ready to go home to their islands. We continued to talk about somebody we knew was around the corner. Lonesome George was visible and chasing the only female in the pond. “Diego” in the next corral was pushing the female away from the feeding area, from the greens they like so much.
At the end of the morning we caught buses up to the restaurant in the highlands where the food was outstanding. Then we got all organized for the expeditions further into the highlands. The “garúa” (a heavy mist) came in about this time, but did not deter us from wanting to see how different the islands look at higher elevations. The twins (pit craters) were impressive and the Scalesia forest something more than special. And when we got the chance to see giant tortoises in the wild as they migrate through farmland, the hope for a better future for the flora and fauna in this archipelago were revived one more time.
What a day the Galápagos gave us today.
We arrived early in the morning to the second largest island in this magical archipelago. The anchorage site was difficult, but that was something that did not stop us. We got everybody ready and the only comment you heard in the crowd was, “Today are the tortoises! Lonesome George is waiting for us!”
Once we landed on the municipal pier, we all headed to the headquarters of the National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station. The first stop in the rearing center had us all captivated by the innocence of the baby tortoises moving from one corner to the other. Not far from the little ones was another enclosure with larger hatchlings and they looked ready to go home to their islands. We continued to talk about somebody we knew was around the corner. Lonesome George was visible and chasing the only female in the pond. “Diego” in the next corral was pushing the female away from the feeding area, from the greens they like so much.
At the end of the morning we caught buses up to the restaurant in the highlands where the food was outstanding. Then we got all organized for the expeditions further into the highlands. The “garúa” (a heavy mist) came in about this time, but did not deter us from wanting to see how different the islands look at higher elevations. The twins (pit craters) were impressive and the Scalesia forest something more than special. And when we got the chance to see giant tortoises in the wild as they migrate through farmland, the hope for a better future for the flora and fauna in this archipelago were revived one more time.
What a day the Galápagos gave us today.
