Santa Cruz Island: Charles Darwin Station & Highlands
We arrived at the island that holds the largest town in the Galápagos, known as Puerto Ayora. After a dry landing, we headed towards the Charles Darwin Research Station, a place where all the main efforts of conservation in the archipelago are shown.
Projects with endemic and native plant species, restoring the dynasty of the tortoises, land iguanas, and others, lead the interpretation in this microcosm of the sustainable development of the unique species in the islands. We were introduced to the main characters of this place, such as: Lonesome George ( the last of his kind ), Super Diego ( quite a big star in the show ), and the pampered baby tortoises being hatched and kept in captivity to protect them against the exotic species that cause damage to the endemic fauna in the archipelago. We really had a great chance to learn about several species of tortoises from different islands.
Our afternoon activity started with a journey to the green paradise of the tortoises, as we headed towards the highlands of Santa Cruz. This is a humid zone, where many species are interacting and developing niches in the fragile ecosystem. We had the chance to walk among the giants of this archipelago, watching their detailed motions as they grazed on elephant grass.
Some of us also had the opportunity to visit the pristine geological feature known as the pit craters (caused by collapse of the magma chamber) surrounded by the giant daisy forest unique to the Galápagos Islands.
It was an outstanding day in the Galápagos, and we experienced the social and conservationist side of this enchanted archipelago, with a new understanding of the value given to these efforts to keep this paradise in its most fragile state.
