Santa Cruz Island
Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island is the largest town in Galápagos. For us, it is the best opportunity to see Galápagos giant tortoises, and also the place where we find the main headquarters of the Charles Darwin Research Center. We went after breakfast to this important center to learn about the different scientific programs run by them.
One of their key programs is the restoration of the land tortoises to their natural habitat. We saw how, from the beginning, the tortoise’s eggs are incubated, to when the juveniles are released to the wild. This implies many months of incubating eggs, long hours to look after the youngsters, and a huge effort to release them in the wild. This program is a great success and thanks to this effort giant tortoises are slowly recovering and increasing their numbers.
We left the center and headed to the town of Puerto Ayora. From there, we went to the highlands. Some guests went by bike, others walked for a while, and others just wanted to enjoy the great views of the low coastal area. From the ship, the islands look very dry and arid. Once ashore we discover green, lush vegetation covering the high moist areas.
After lunch we went looking for Galápagos giant tortoises in the wild. We chose one area in particular since they usually opt for the same regions every year. We were not disappointed, as we found many large males feeding and sleeping around one of the most beautiful regions. Covered by trees and grasses, these primitive looking animals continue to amaze everyone, as Galápagos is one of the few places on earth we can still find them in the wild.
As the afternoon finished we headed to our ship and had a great evening in the company of some local musicians and dancers.
