Santa Cruz Island
This vibrant island is home for a hard-working human population that is concentrated in the town of Puerto Ayora. This port town is also home to the Galápagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Station. These two institutions are partners in conservation. Today, our guests observed the most emblematic animal species of this Archipelago, the Galápagos giant tortoises. In the morning we learnt about the various preservation programs that these two entities are developing in order to restore giant tortoises’ populations that were close to extinction. Later in the morning, we boarded local buses and ventured towards the highlands of Santa Cruz. We had our lunch surrounded by lush vegetation. After the feast we went to see the giant tortoises in their natural habitat. What a beautiful place to see these giant reptiles! We observed many individuals; some were taking a siesta while others were grazing the vegetation of the area. Right now we are at the peak of the giant tortoises’ mating season. We saw a couple of these gigantic animals copulating.
After observing the tortoises in the wild we headed to one of the highest points of the island. The landscape at this height is very similar to a cloud forest with many epiphytes hanging on the endemic Scalesia trees. Late in the afternoon after spending a full day on Santa Cruz Island we all came back to our home, National Geographic Islander, to continue our expedition this time navigating towards the westernmost islands.
This vibrant island is home for a hard-working human population that is concentrated in the town of Puerto Ayora. This port town is also home to the Galápagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Station. These two institutions are partners in conservation. Today, our guests observed the most emblematic animal species of this Archipelago, the Galápagos giant tortoises. In the morning we learnt about the various preservation programs that these two entities are developing in order to restore giant tortoises’ populations that were close to extinction. Later in the morning, we boarded local buses and ventured towards the highlands of Santa Cruz. We had our lunch surrounded by lush vegetation. After the feast we went to see the giant tortoises in their natural habitat. What a beautiful place to see these giant reptiles! We observed many individuals; some were taking a siesta while others were grazing the vegetation of the area. Right now we are at the peak of the giant tortoises’ mating season. We saw a couple of these gigantic animals copulating.
After observing the tortoises in the wild we headed to one of the highest points of the island. The landscape at this height is very similar to a cloud forest with many epiphytes hanging on the endemic Scalesia trees. Late in the afternoon after spending a full day on Santa Cruz Island we all came back to our home, National Geographic Islander, to continue our expedition this time navigating towards the westernmost islands.
