Santa Cruz Island
Today we anchored in Academy Bay, Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island. After breakfast we went to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS). In Santa Cruz we could observe one of the most interesting vegetation zones of the Galápagos archipelago, the coastal or littoral zone. This zone is very rich in Flora diversity.
In the CDRS we got to see the giant tortoises that live in the Center. Amongst them there are saddle back tortoises from Espanola Island. This group includes a famous inhabitant, Diego. This individual came back from California to help with the restoration efforts of its vanishing subspecies.
We could not miss the no-less-famous Lonesome George who is by far the most famous tortoise in the Galápagos. He is, unfortunately, the last survivor of the island of Pinta; which is a small one located in the northern part of the archipelago. We also enjoyed watching the baby tortoises at the Rearing Center. The eggs that are being incubated in the Center hatch and live there for a couple of years before being returned to their original islands.
After this visit we drove to the highlands where we were served a tasty meal at "Altair" Restaurant which is located on a prime spot on the highlands of Santa Cruz. From the restaurant it is possible to see Puerto Ayora town and some of the surrounding islands. Right after this we drove a bit deeper into the highlands to look for the Giant tortoises in the wild. The subspecies (Geochelone elephantopus porteri) that lives around these areas is one of the largest ones found in the Galápagos.
The Giant tortoises were seen roaming the lush forest of the island. We observed several individuals walking through the exuberant vegetation and eating passion fruits. It was such an exiting day that it seems difficult to beat it.
Today we anchored in Academy Bay, Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island. After breakfast we went to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS). In Santa Cruz we could observe one of the most interesting vegetation zones of the Galápagos archipelago, the coastal or littoral zone. This zone is very rich in Flora diversity.
In the CDRS we got to see the giant tortoises that live in the Center. Amongst them there are saddle back tortoises from Espanola Island. This group includes a famous inhabitant, Diego. This individual came back from California to help with the restoration efforts of its vanishing subspecies.
We could not miss the no-less-famous Lonesome George who is by far the most famous tortoise in the Galápagos. He is, unfortunately, the last survivor of the island of Pinta; which is a small one located in the northern part of the archipelago. We also enjoyed watching the baby tortoises at the Rearing Center. The eggs that are being incubated in the Center hatch and live there for a couple of years before being returned to their original islands.
After this visit we drove to the highlands where we were served a tasty meal at "Altair" Restaurant which is located on a prime spot on the highlands of Santa Cruz. From the restaurant it is possible to see Puerto Ayora town and some of the surrounding islands. Right after this we drove a bit deeper into the highlands to look for the Giant tortoises in the wild. The subspecies (Geochelone elephantopus porteri) that lives around these areas is one of the largest ones found in the Galápagos.
The Giant tortoises were seen roaming the lush forest of the island. We observed several individuals walking through the exuberant vegetation and eating passion fruits. It was such an exiting day that it seems difficult to beat it.
