Today we had a great adventure on the most inhabited island of the Galapagos archipelago, Santa Cruz Island. The island is home to around 18,000 people, but it still preserves its natural paradises.
In the morning, we landed at the public dock of Puerto Ayora to board buses for the National Park facilities. We walked all the way to the Charles Darwin Research Station Museum and the Rearing Center for Galapagos Giant Tortoises. This area is a great place to learn about conservation efforts in the Galapagos.
Afterwards, we took the same buses to the highlands. We made a great stop at “Trapiche Ecologico,” a family-owned business. We learned about some of the first families established in Santa Cruz and about the production of natural products like “Caña de Azucar,” “Aguardiente,” and chocolate.
Later, we drove to “Rancho El Manzanillo,” where we had a marvelous lunch and the chance to roam around and observe Santa Cruz giant tortoises. The animals are in their natural habitat thanks to the location of this ranch, which is located right next to the natural reserve, “El Chato.”
After learning about this representative species, it was time to go back to the ship. We concluded another day in this wonderful paradise.
