Santa Cruz Island
Santa Cruz is my favorite island in Galápagos, not only because we can find giant tortoises, but because I was born here in the town of Puerto Ayora.
My childhood on this island is something I will never forget. The school was located a few meters from the beach and after classes, we all would run to the sea to jump and play with the sea lions. The marine iguanas would be watching us and sneeze sea salt at us every time that we got too close to them. These are great childhood memories that have now become our guests’ memories as well.
Nowadays, there are more people living here, about fifteen thousand. The town has grown and many things have changed. The good thing, however, is that we can still sea lions, marine iguanas, and the giant tortoises in their natural habitat, the same way I saw them as a kid.
Today we had the opportunity to see giant tortoises near the Charles Darwin Research Station and hear about the different breeding programs of the Galápagos National Park to protect this unique species.
In the afternoon, we saw them in the wild. We had a great time experiencing the tranquility of these creatures. They are beyond a doubt without a care in the world.
We all returned to the National Geographic Polaris close to sunset. We spent the rest of the night anchored in front of the town that gave us such wonderful experiences during the day.
Santa Cruz is my favorite island in Galápagos, not only because we can find giant tortoises, but because I was born here in the town of Puerto Ayora.
My childhood on this island is something I will never forget. The school was located a few meters from the beach and after classes, we all would run to the sea to jump and play with the sea lions. The marine iguanas would be watching us and sneeze sea salt at us every time that we got too close to them. These are great childhood memories that have now become our guests’ memories as well.
Nowadays, there are more people living here, about fifteen thousand. The town has grown and many things have changed. The good thing, however, is that we can still sea lions, marine iguanas, and the giant tortoises in their natural habitat, the same way I saw them as a kid.
Today we had the opportunity to see giant tortoises near the Charles Darwin Research Station and hear about the different breeding programs of the Galápagos National Park to protect this unique species.
In the afternoon, we saw them in the wild. We had a great time experiencing the tranquility of these creatures. They are beyond a doubt without a care in the world.
We all returned to the National Geographic Polaris close to sunset. We spent the rest of the night anchored in front of the town that gave us such wonderful experiences during the day.
