Santa Cruz Island
What a wonderful day we all had today. This picture was taken on board the Polaris, when just after dinner a group of local musicians and dancers greeted us with a taste of their culture, just to remind us where we are: a small speck in the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles away from our homes, isolated and yet in a great mood to party. We are on vacation in the Galápagos Islands! And it all started like this…
Early in the morning we set foot on the second largest island in the archipelago, Santa Cruz Island. The town is Puerto Ayora, where all the efforts for conservation take place under the responsibility of two institutions: the Galápagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Research Station.
We had the opportunity to get to know the world famous Galápagos giant tortoise and learn about the lives and environments of the different taxa, 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.
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? Today was hard to beat, a striking day surrounded by finches of all kinds. We even saw a woodpecker finch using a tool to reach its prey – an exceedingly rare and precious sighting. Add to this highlight vermilion flycatchers, rails, even frigates displaying an interesting behaviour and you have an unbeatable “Birder’s dreamland.”
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.
What a wonderful day we all had today. This picture was taken on board the Polaris, when just after dinner a group of local musicians and dancers greeted us with a taste of their culture, just to remind us where we are: a small speck in the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles away from our homes, isolated and yet in a great mood to party. We are on vacation in the Galápagos Islands! And it all started like this…
Early in the morning we set foot on the second largest island in the archipelago, Santa Cruz Island. The town is Puerto Ayora, where all the efforts for conservation take place under the responsibility of two institutions: the Galápagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Research Station.
We had the opportunity to get to know the world famous Galápagos giant tortoise and learn about the lives and environments of the different taxa, 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.
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? Today was hard to beat, a striking day surrounded by finches of all kinds. We even saw a woodpecker finch using a tool to reach its prey – an exceedingly rare and precious sighting. Add to this highlight vermilion flycatchers, rails, even frigates displaying an interesting behaviour and you have an unbeatable “Birder’s dreamland.”
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.
