Santa Cruz Island
Academy Bay is the name of the harbor where we are anchored today. The view of the clouds covering the top of the mountain prepared every one for what we thought would be a rainy day. A fresh walk to the Charles Darwin Research Station allowed us to see the giant cactus, the manzanillo tree, mangroves and other native plants which are common in the arid zone.
What a surprise it was for everyone to be able to walk in the corral where some of the largest male tortoises live. The females were in another corral enjoying the shade as the sun was starting to show its intense rays. We saw the tortoises from the dry island of Espanola and learned why they are there breading in captivity. The prize of the walk was seeing the baby tortoises that were born just a month ago. Wow! It was so incredible to be able to see the tortoises in different stages of life.
Our tortoise day did not end there. The buses took us to a private farm where we walked through a lava tunnel, ate a well-earned lunch, and got ready to go again, but this time with our rubber boots on. This time there were no guarantees so we looked and looked and found several tortoises in the wild. What a feeling it is to see them in their own habitat, retracting their heads and breathing out, eating from the ground or just sitting there.
Our day was completed by a walk through the forest around sink holes which were decorated with endemic orchids, scalesia trees and ferns. The rain gear did not get a chance to get wet and again we were glad to have had such a wonderful day.
