Santa Cruz Island
A beautiful morning found us off the southern coastal line of the island of Santa Cruz. We anchored in Academy Bay and the views of the southern slopes of the island were illuminated by a magnificent sun rising on the horizon.
After breakfast, we were all ready to disembark in Puerto Ayora. This nice, picturesque-looking town happens to be the largest one in the Galápagos.
It is here where our expectations were exceeded once we got to see one of the main attractions of our trip, the emblematic giant tortoises.
We walked through the interpretation center at the Darwin Research Station to see these gigantic reptiles, unique to this archipelago. We stopped along the way in several areas to see the baby tortoises that were born in the breeding center, up close. We also talked about the last of the tortoises that once, long ago, populated the island of Pinta, Lonesome George. There was no doubt at this point that our day had started in an incredible way, and it was just getting better and better!
After a short bus ride up to the highlands, we made it deeper into the farming areas where we were looking for giant tortoises, but this time in the wild. The unexpected visit to a lava tunnel nearby became one of the highlights of the afternoon.
Once again, the island of Santa Cruz delivered great sightings and experiences to our guests and as we parted, many of us would remember it as the giant tortoise island!
A beautiful morning found us off the southern coastal line of the island of Santa Cruz. We anchored in Academy Bay and the views of the southern slopes of the island were illuminated by a magnificent sun rising on the horizon.
After breakfast, we were all ready to disembark in Puerto Ayora. This nice, picturesque-looking town happens to be the largest one in the Galápagos.
It is here where our expectations were exceeded once we got to see one of the main attractions of our trip, the emblematic giant tortoises.
We walked through the interpretation center at the Darwin Research Station to see these gigantic reptiles, unique to this archipelago. We stopped along the way in several areas to see the baby tortoises that were born in the breeding center, up close. We also talked about the last of the tortoises that once, long ago, populated the island of Pinta, Lonesome George. There was no doubt at this point that our day had started in an incredible way, and it was just getting better and better!
After a short bus ride up to the highlands, we made it deeper into the farming areas where we were looking for giant tortoises, but this time in the wild. The unexpected visit to a lava tunnel nearby became one of the highlights of the afternoon.
Once again, the island of Santa Cruz delivered great sightings and experiences to our guests and as we parted, many of us would remember it as the giant tortoise island!
