Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos
What an exciting day this one turned out to be! Academy Bay is where our ship has been anchored. There are other vessels alongside which decorate the harbor. There are sailboats with people that are travelling around the world, yachts that are used for day trips, a few fishing boats and some patrol yachts that help with the logistic of many of the programs that the Galápagos National Park is involved with.
Our goal for today was to see and learn about the giant tortoises. The Charles Darwin Research Station is the home for many tortoises that are part of the breeding program or are there because many years ago they were pets for the people that lived in the islands. The Zodiacs took us to the dock and several marine iguanas were there to greet us. The tide was low and this gave us the chance to see some tide pools. The damselfish were clearly protecting their territory. The roots of the red mangroves are part of this ecosystem and we see that they are one of the barriers between ocean and land.
The baby tortoises are the size or our hand for the fist two years but are kept under the care of the park rangers until their carapace size reaches over 32cm. The repatriation may be occurring when they reach five or six years of age. Lonesome George is, most of the time, the tortoise that gets everyone interested because he is the last individual from Pinta.
Our transportation to the highlands took us to a private farm where we were able to experience crossing a lava tunnel with curious formations of calcium carbonate and some ferns growing at the entrance where light was available. Some of our guests were really tired but also excited because it was the first time that they had done something so unique.
After a great lunch prepared in the Ecuadorian style, we got back in the buses to explore the area where land tortoises are frequently in search of fresh water ponds. We looked around for ten or maybe more minutes and we fortunately found three that were not shy at all and very cooperative.
We soon realized that we had another activity in our schedule. The pit craters are an unexpected lush area of Santa Cruz where several bird species are found. The scalesia forest is an endemic plant that forms ecosystems with several organisms with endemic orchids and bromeliads.
This island is an example of the effort of an entire community that has learned to live where nature becomes a priority, and we are very proud to be part of it.
