Santa Cruz Island
In between the last two days we crossed the Equator line four times and after navigating twelve hours we finally dropped anchor in Academy Bay, in front of the town known as Puerto Ayora, on the island of Santa Cruz. Here is located the largest population in the whole Galápagos; about twenty thousand people are living here due to tourism and the local fisheries. The Charles Darwin Research Station and Galápagos National Park Headquarters are also located here and employ a fair number of the population.
During the morning we visited the giant tortoise rearing center managed by the Galápagos National Park. Here we learned about on-going conservation projects to preserve and restore the population of this enigmatic and legendary reptile, the Galápagos Giant Tortoise. There was a lot to learn also about the current threats to the Galápagos ecosystems. The Charles Darwin Research Station is also located in this area to the east of the town and during our circuit viewing tortoises there was the opportunity to see just a fraction of what the research station and their personnel are working on: a laboratory to study the introduced terrestrial invertebrates, the shade house where native and endemic plants are grown for encouraging locals to use for decoration instead of colorful introduced ornamentals. Of course they are involved in much, much more, but are not visible to the visitor spending just a couple of hours in the area.
The afternoon was spent in the highlands, escaping for a short while the heat and humidity of the warm season which has just begun this past week. The giant tortoises in the wild were wandering the fields, and a pair was even found mating!
All around, it was a successful Galápagos giant tortoise day!
In between the last two days we crossed the Equator line four times and after navigating twelve hours we finally dropped anchor in Academy Bay, in front of the town known as Puerto Ayora, on the island of Santa Cruz. Here is located the largest population in the whole Galápagos; about twenty thousand people are living here due to tourism and the local fisheries. The Charles Darwin Research Station and Galápagos National Park Headquarters are also located here and employ a fair number of the population.
During the morning we visited the giant tortoise rearing center managed by the Galápagos National Park. Here we learned about on-going conservation projects to preserve and restore the population of this enigmatic and legendary reptile, the Galápagos Giant Tortoise. There was a lot to learn also about the current threats to the Galápagos ecosystems. The Charles Darwin Research Station is also located in this area to the east of the town and during our circuit viewing tortoises there was the opportunity to see just a fraction of what the research station and their personnel are working on: a laboratory to study the introduced terrestrial invertebrates, the shade house where native and endemic plants are grown for encouraging locals to use for decoration instead of colorful introduced ornamentals. Of course they are involved in much, much more, but are not visible to the visitor spending just a couple of hours in the area.
The afternoon was spent in the highlands, escaping for a short while the heat and humidity of the warm season which has just begun this past week. The giant tortoises in the wild were wandering the fields, and a pair was even found mating!
All around, it was a successful Galápagos giant tortoise day!
