Santa Cruz Island
It is mid-December, and we can tell that the weather is changing. It was a fresh morning for a nice visit to Santa Cruz Island. All our guests were pretty excited when they observed the endemic giant prickly pears flowering at this time of the year. The highlight of the day was the Galápagos giant tortoise, which we found both at the Charles Darwin Research Station and in the highlands of Santa Cruz Island. At the Darwin Center, we learned about the programs for the restoration of the tortoise dynasty, and we could observe them in various corrals. Many of these individuals were rather active, like the Española Island tortoises that were cooling off in their pool or wandering around looking for fresh leaves to munch. After the visit to this key site for conservation, our guests had time to walk through Puerto Ayora, a colorful town and the largest in the Galápagos Islands, where they could enjoy some Christmas shopping.
Upon leaving Puerto Ayora by bus, we headed for the humid zone of the island. Along this road, we were amazed to find dozens of giant tortoises grazing the green grasses of the various private farms. These giants do not belong to the farmers, but they do “invade” private property from the natural park areas in order to find fresh food. A walk through a lava tunnel was a hit, since it’s not every day you get to walk under the ground! Our next walk in the afternoon brought us to a place where tortoises were enjoying a small pond, so we were fortunate to have a close encounter with these gentle giants in the wild. We must say that this week our guests were lucky enough to have observed several species of land birds, amongst them the woodpecker finch, of which three individuals were spotted. Amidst the Scalesia zone and its variety of native and endemic plants we discovered more land birds, like the curious vermillion flycatcher, the warbler finch and the small tree finch, hiding in the dense vegetation. It was very interesting that everybody participated in the search for these little birds. It is also in the humid zones of the Galápagos Islands where you can find several species of orchids. Today, the cool afternoon offered us the fresh flowers of the buttonhole orchid. After such a great day, we returned back to the National Geographic Islander to enjoy a well earned rest.
It is mid-December, and we can tell that the weather is changing. It was a fresh morning for a nice visit to Santa Cruz Island. All our guests were pretty excited when they observed the endemic giant prickly pears flowering at this time of the year. The highlight of the day was the Galápagos giant tortoise, which we found both at the Charles Darwin Research Station and in the highlands of Santa Cruz Island. At the Darwin Center, we learned about the programs for the restoration of the tortoise dynasty, and we could observe them in various corrals. Many of these individuals were rather active, like the Española Island tortoises that were cooling off in their pool or wandering around looking for fresh leaves to munch. After the visit to this key site for conservation, our guests had time to walk through Puerto Ayora, a colorful town and the largest in the Galápagos Islands, where they could enjoy some Christmas shopping.
Upon leaving Puerto Ayora by bus, we headed for the humid zone of the island. Along this road, we were amazed to find dozens of giant tortoises grazing the green grasses of the various private farms. These giants do not belong to the farmers, but they do “invade” private property from the natural park areas in order to find fresh food. A walk through a lava tunnel was a hit, since it’s not every day you get to walk under the ground! Our next walk in the afternoon brought us to a place where tortoises were enjoying a small pond, so we were fortunate to have a close encounter with these gentle giants in the wild. We must say that this week our guests were lucky enough to have observed several species of land birds, amongst them the woodpecker finch, of which three individuals were spotted. Amidst the Scalesia zone and its variety of native and endemic plants we discovered more land birds, like the curious vermillion flycatcher, the warbler finch and the small tree finch, hiding in the dense vegetation. It was very interesting that everybody participated in the search for these little birds. It is also in the humid zones of the Galápagos Islands where you can find several species of orchids. Today, the cool afternoon offered us the fresh flowers of the buttonhole orchid. After such a great day, we returned back to the National Geographic Islander to enjoy a well earned rest.
