Santa Cruz Island
This morning there was a breathtaking sunrise over Santa Cruz Island. The town of Puerto Ayora started its daily activities while tour boats, cargo ships and small yachts were anchored in Academy Bay. Many people started off on their way to work in town, some in businesses, others in restaurants and many headed to the Galápagos National Park Service. But today was not a normal day at the Charles Darwin Research Station; many children were getting ready for a special event, and some authorities, scientists, and volunteers were in evidence around the tortoise corrals and herbarium. We ourselves also came to visit the station, and saw quite a bit of bustle and activity during our time there.
Today is “Darwin’s Day 2004” and the II Symposium of Science and Education, a very important event taking place at the Charles Darwin Research Station from December 8 to 11, 2004. The event’s main purpose is to promote knowledge about the archipelago to the local community, as well as inform them about the work of science and conservation taking place here since 1959. For this reason loads of school children were being escorted around the station grounds and introduced to the concept of conservation and the significance of Galápagos on the world’s stage.
The afternoon was spent in the native highland forest surrounded by the unique local flora. The bright vermillion flycatcher paid us a visit here, as others of its kind did when we found the tortoises wandering the fields lower down. Our lunch spot and the entire afternoon excursion allowed us to experience something we wouldn’t see again this week (unless we return): the lush, verdant green vegetation nourished by the mists of clouds trapped by altitude. Up to now we had been spending our time visiting the coastal areas of Galápagos, surrounded by dry, barren lava. Today was a truly refreshing change.
This morning there was a breathtaking sunrise over Santa Cruz Island. The town of Puerto Ayora started its daily activities while tour boats, cargo ships and small yachts were anchored in Academy Bay. Many people started off on their way to work in town, some in businesses, others in restaurants and many headed to the Galápagos National Park Service. But today was not a normal day at the Charles Darwin Research Station; many children were getting ready for a special event, and some authorities, scientists, and volunteers were in evidence around the tortoise corrals and herbarium. We ourselves also came to visit the station, and saw quite a bit of bustle and activity during our time there.
Today is “Darwin’s Day 2004” and the II Symposium of Science and Education, a very important event taking place at the Charles Darwin Research Station from December 8 to 11, 2004. The event’s main purpose is to promote knowledge about the archipelago to the local community, as well as inform them about the work of science and conservation taking place here since 1959. For this reason loads of school children were being escorted around the station grounds and introduced to the concept of conservation and the significance of Galápagos on the world’s stage.
The afternoon was spent in the native highland forest surrounded by the unique local flora. The bright vermillion flycatcher paid us a visit here, as others of its kind did when we found the tortoises wandering the fields lower down. Our lunch spot and the entire afternoon excursion allowed us to experience something we wouldn’t see again this week (unless we return): the lush, verdant green vegetation nourished by the mists of clouds trapped by altitude. Up to now we had been spending our time visiting the coastal areas of Galápagos, surrounded by dry, barren lava. Today was a truly refreshing change.
