Santa Cruz Island
On Monday evenings, when we ask our guests if they feel ready to go back to civilization, their unanimous answer is “NO!” No one can imagine that visiting an inhabited island would be a gratifying experience. However in Galapagos, “inhabited” is not synonymous with “spoiled”.
Santa Cruz Island, which we visit on Tuesdays, is the second largest island in this archipelago. Most of it is National Park; this means that only travelers accompanied by qualified Naturalists can visit. Law protects the flora and fauna, and the “galapaguenos” are the true guardians of this unique place in the world.
There are probably around 12000 people living on this island. Some are farmers, some are fisherman, but most of them work in tourism. They all share their love for Galapagos, and they are proud to be living on Santa Cruz. This is at the very heart of the Galapagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station.
Santa Cruz is the home island of some of our Naturalists. It is also the place where we see Galapagos giant tortoises both in the wild and in the breeding corrals at the Darwin Center. The charming town of Puerto Ayora always welcomes us, and offers a pleasing mix of influences and cultures. Here you find weird, fun combinations of things: prickly pear cactus beside introduced flame trees, a monument to Charles Darwin in front of the Catholic Church. Puerto Ayora is colorful and picturesque and is a noisy and delightful town.
On Monday evenings, when we ask our guests if they feel ready to go back to civilization, their unanimous answer is “NO!” No one can imagine that visiting an inhabited island would be a gratifying experience. However in Galapagos, “inhabited” is not synonymous with “spoiled”.
Santa Cruz Island, which we visit on Tuesdays, is the second largest island in this archipelago. Most of it is National Park; this means that only travelers accompanied by qualified Naturalists can visit. Law protects the flora and fauna, and the “galapaguenos” are the true guardians of this unique place in the world.
There are probably around 12000 people living on this island. Some are farmers, some are fisherman, but most of them work in tourism. They all share their love for Galapagos, and they are proud to be living on Santa Cruz. This is at the very heart of the Galapagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station.
Santa Cruz is the home island of some of our Naturalists. It is also the place where we see Galapagos giant tortoises both in the wild and in the breeding corrals at the Darwin Center. The charming town of Puerto Ayora always welcomes us, and offers a pleasing mix of influences and cultures. Here you find weird, fun combinations of things: prickly pear cactus beside introduced flame trees, a monument to Charles Darwin in front of the Catholic Church. Puerto Ayora is colorful and picturesque and is a noisy and delightful town.
