Santa Cruz Island
What a wonderful day we all had today.
Early in the morning we set foot on the second largest island in the archipelago, Santa Cruz Island. The main town on the island is Puerto Ayora. Here the conservation efforts of the Galápagos Islands fall under the responsibility of two institutions: the Galápagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Research Station. They work together to achieve the difficult task of preserving these islands. Today we witnessed the tortoise rearing program and saw many tiny baby tortoises which will be repatriated back to their respective islands. We saw them not just at the station but also in the wild where they roam freely, firing up our imagination and taking us on a trip through time that left us wondering what the early colonizers thought of them.
We had the opportunity to get to know the world famous Galápagos giant tortoises and learn about their lives and surroundings. We saw the last survivor of Pinta Island, Lonesome George, as well.
After some free time in the town, we took our buses to go to the highlands. We had a succulent lunch; surrounded by lush green vegetation and many finches – it was hard to believe we were on the same island.
Santa Cruz is also known for its geology, pit craters and lava tunnels, all of which are impressive silent witnesses of the power of this land of fire.
Would you like to hear about birds? Well, today was hard to beat, a striking day surrounded by Darwin finches of all kinds. We even saw a woodpecker finch using a tool to reach its prey – an exceedingly rare and precious sighting.
Our adventure continues on without us realizing that this is just a small sample for what is yet to come in our expedition, here in the enchanted islands and tomorrow awaits us with many more surprises. Keep in touch my dear reader; the best is yet to come!
