Santa Cruz Island
Right after breakfast, we were ready to disembark in Puerto Ayora, the economic capital of the Galápagos. This dynamic town holds the headquarters of the Charles Darwin Research Station and the Galápagos National Park, on Santa Cruz Island.
Our aim was to visit the tortoise breeding and repatriation center. There, hundreds of tortoises are kept in captivity and many are allowed to breed, in order to repopulate the islands. Many such islands have suffered the devastating effects of introduced animals, such as goats and other mammals, leading to the extinction of several species. Lonesome George is probably the most famous of all tortoises, because none of his peers ever made it to the present. He is the last giant tortoise survivor from Pinta Island. George was great for pictures, he is a natural!
After that visit, we saw the town, recovering from the most exhausting elections in the decade. We Ecuadorians chose over 2,000 representatives of the people last Sunday, and that was very arduous indeed. Nevertheless, shops and cafes were open and full of colors and local flavors.
By bus, we reached the highlands, where we had a very refreshing, light lunch, with lots of veggies and delicious desserts. The mouth-opener was a hike into the under–world, along a dark lava tunnel, full of geological surprises. Then we looked for Galápagos giant tortoises in the wild and visited a geo-morphological formation known as the Pit craters...another full day in Paradise.
Right after breakfast, we were ready to disembark in Puerto Ayora, the economic capital of the Galápagos. This dynamic town holds the headquarters of the Charles Darwin Research Station and the Galápagos National Park, on Santa Cruz Island.
Our aim was to visit the tortoise breeding and repatriation center. There, hundreds of tortoises are kept in captivity and many are allowed to breed, in order to repopulate the islands. Many such islands have suffered the devastating effects of introduced animals, such as goats and other mammals, leading to the extinction of several species. Lonesome George is probably the most famous of all tortoises, because none of his peers ever made it to the present. He is the last giant tortoise survivor from Pinta Island. George was great for pictures, he is a natural!
After that visit, we saw the town, recovering from the most exhausting elections in the decade. We Ecuadorians chose over 2,000 representatives of the people last Sunday, and that was very arduous indeed. Nevertheless, shops and cafes were open and full of colors and local flavors.
By bus, we reached the highlands, where we had a very refreshing, light lunch, with lots of veggies and delicious desserts. The mouth-opener was a hike into the under–world, along a dark lava tunnel, full of geological surprises. Then we looked for Galápagos giant tortoises in the wild and visited a geo-morphological formation known as the Pit craters...another full day in Paradise.
