Santa Cruz Island
We had the most spectacular day in the company of the unique and great Galápagos giant tortoises. The Islander anchored in Academy Bay, on Santa Cruz Island; we disembarked in the charming little town of Puerto Ayora, where the Galápagos National Park Service keeps a rearing center working constantly on the population’s recovery of the endemic gentle giant tortoises.
We saw the huge adult tortoises together with tiny baby tortoises the size of the palm of our hands. They were all well kept by the park rangers, waiting for their turn to go back to their natural habits and contribute with the repopulation in affected areas.
At noon we were ready to move again, first for lunch and right after to continue with more adventures. We were lucky while visiting the highlands of Santa Cruz, since we found the vegetarian finch (which happens to be a difficult one to find). This bird was not alone, of course. Many other species of birds were in the nearby area so we enjoyed them all.
Surrounded by greenery, we also had a great walk to a natural fresh water pond called El Chato, where tortoises roam in the wild. There we found some pintail ducks and moorhens as well as yellow warblers taking a bath. Some tortoises were mating and we were very fortunate to witness that. To end up this wonderful third day in paradise, we visited the Twins or the also known pit craters. These sink hole formations embedded within the endemic Scalecia forest are the delightful habitat of many more species of Darwin finches.
Late in the afternoon we were heading back to the Islander, completely satisfied with our overall experience. What a day!
We had the most spectacular day in the company of the unique and great Galápagos giant tortoises. The Islander anchored in Academy Bay, on Santa Cruz Island; we disembarked in the charming little town of Puerto Ayora, where the Galápagos National Park Service keeps a rearing center working constantly on the population’s recovery of the endemic gentle giant tortoises.
We saw the huge adult tortoises together with tiny baby tortoises the size of the palm of our hands. They were all well kept by the park rangers, waiting for their turn to go back to their natural habits and contribute with the repopulation in affected areas.
At noon we were ready to move again, first for lunch and right after to continue with more adventures. We were lucky while visiting the highlands of Santa Cruz, since we found the vegetarian finch (which happens to be a difficult one to find). This bird was not alone, of course. Many other species of birds were in the nearby area so we enjoyed them all.
Surrounded by greenery, we also had a great walk to a natural fresh water pond called El Chato, where tortoises roam in the wild. There we found some pintail ducks and moorhens as well as yellow warblers taking a bath. Some tortoises were mating and we were very fortunate to witness that. To end up this wonderful third day in paradise, we visited the Twins or the also known pit craters. These sink hole formations embedded within the endemic Scalecia forest are the delightful habitat of many more species of Darwin finches.
Late in the afternoon we were heading back to the Islander, completely satisfied with our overall experience. What a day!
