Santa Cruz Island
Today we visit the Charles Darwin Research Station and the Galápagos National Park, in Puerto Ayora, the economic capital of the Galápagos. This dynamic town holds the highest rate of tourism and scientific work in the Galápagos Islands.
Our aim is to visit the tortoise breeding and repatriation center, where hundreds of tortoises are kept in captivity and many are there to breed, in order to repopulate the islands. The devastating effects of introduced animals, such as goats and rats have left a scar on many islands, even leading to the extinction of a good number of species.
After that visit, we walked to town, where all the shops and cafes were open and full of colors and local flavors.
In the afternoon, we reached the highlands by bus, where we had a very nice, light lunch, with lots of cinnamon carrots, fruits and delicious desserts. Before that, we did a hike in the under–world, along a dark and scary lava tunnel, full of geological surprises.
After lunch it was time to find Galápagos giant tortoises in the wild. We also visited the twin craters, a geo-morphological formation of great interest.
Another full day in Paradise…
