Santa Cruz & North Seymour Islands
We arrived at Puerto Ayora at daybreak. Shortly afterwards we disembarked to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, home to the legendary Lonesome George; the last survivor from Pinta Island. Before mankind reached the Galápagos these giant reptiles were abundant on most of the major islands. In the whaling centuries most of them were mercilessly hunted and in some places driven to extinction. Lonesome George is one of the victims of those gloomy bygone years.
The Charles Darwin Research Station plays an important role, along with the National Park Service, in carrying out restoration programs with all the threatened organisms on the islands. As a result of these efforts today we have healthy populations of many of our formerly endangered species.
Later on we headed to the highlands and visited the giant tortoises’ reserve where we took a hike into the forest in search of these large reptiles that gave name and fame to the islands.
After lunch we departed from Santa Cruz towards North Seymour, where we disembarked in the afternoon for a very enjoyable walk among extensive seabird colonies. This island is home to a large blue-footed booby breeding colony: this colourful bird is beginning its nesting cycle at this time of the year and performing its unique courtship ritual that includes a complex dance that delighted us for all the length of the walk.
In this same location you can find the only colony of frigate birds in Galápagos that nest all year round and include both our resident species, the great and the magnificent. We came across several individuals displaying their red pouches to attract the females flying overhead.
As we returned, we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset painting the sky with tones of red, orange, purple and blue.
We arrived at Puerto Ayora at daybreak. Shortly afterwards we disembarked to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, home to the legendary Lonesome George; the last survivor from Pinta Island. Before mankind reached the Galápagos these giant reptiles were abundant on most of the major islands. In the whaling centuries most of them were mercilessly hunted and in some places driven to extinction. Lonesome George is one of the victims of those gloomy bygone years.
The Charles Darwin Research Station plays an important role, along with the National Park Service, in carrying out restoration programs with all the threatened organisms on the islands. As a result of these efforts today we have healthy populations of many of our formerly endangered species.
Later on we headed to the highlands and visited the giant tortoises’ reserve where we took a hike into the forest in search of these large reptiles that gave name and fame to the islands.
After lunch we departed from Santa Cruz towards North Seymour, where we disembarked in the afternoon for a very enjoyable walk among extensive seabird colonies. This island is home to a large blue-footed booby breeding colony: this colourful bird is beginning its nesting cycle at this time of the year and performing its unique courtship ritual that includes a complex dance that delighted us for all the length of the walk.
In this same location you can find the only colony of frigate birds in Galápagos that nest all year round and include both our resident species, the great and the magnificent. We came across several individuals displaying their red pouches to attract the females flying overhead.
As we returned, we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset painting the sky with tones of red, orange, purple and blue.
