Santa Cruz Island
The best day of our Galápagos cruise so far was spent observing the giant land tortoises. The emblem of this archipelago was on the brink of extinction when pirates and whalers started coming to Galápagos in search of food. Not only were they also used by early settlers as lamp oil but their shells were used for cradles as well!
Almost three centuries of abuse towards these gentle giants was enough to almost finish them off, just at the edge of extinction the Galápagos National Park Service as well as the Charles Darwin Research Station were established. An emergency program was started, to restore the legacy of these unique creatures.
After fifty years of hard work Galápagos has the satisfaction to show the world one of the most successful programs to repopulate a wild animal in captivity. Several thousands of tortoises born in the center have been repatriated to replenish the islands.
Today we learned from our Naturalists all about these unique programs to protect the Galápagos wildlife. It was a great highlight to see giant land tortoises able to return to their island of origin. The afternoon at Santa Cruz was full of excitement, we had lunch at a great place in the highlands were it was lush and green and fresh.
We rode bikes, played volleyball, swam at a local pool, had barbecue chicken for lunch and later spent the best of times in the company of wild tortoises in Tortoise Land.
