Santa Cruz Island
Our day in the central realm of the archipelago began on Santa Cruz Island. Our visit started in the morning in the town of Puerto Ayora located at the south end of the island.
Puerto Ayora is the largest town in the Galápagos with an approximate population of about 16000 people, many of whom are in one way or another related with tourism-related economic activities.
We went ashore to visit the head quarters of the Charles Darwin Research Center, which is now the home of the only remaining living land tortoise from the race of Pinta Island. He is well known as “Lonesome George” and has two female companions from Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island.
An important part of our visit to the Darwin Center is to observe the very successful breeding program for the Galápagos land tortoises as well as the chance to learn about the breeding program of the endemic Galápagos land iguanas.
After visiting the Darwin Center, we headed towards the town and had time to explore Puerto Ayora. For lunch we took some local buses and headed up into the highlands to a beautiful area covered in tall trees and greenery, and arrived at a very nice restaurant named “Altair.” There our guests enjoyed the swimming pool and a volleyball game before lunch, after which we chose one of a variety of ways to enjoy the afternoon.
Most of us went to visit the Scalesia cloud forest, an endemic genus belonging to the sunflower family that coats the area surrounding a couple of impressive pit craters. We had a wonderful time admiring the scenery and exploring the forest in search of the vermillion fly catcher, the woodpecker finch, vegetarian finch and some of the unique plants of the Galápagos Islands.
We went to a local ranch and had the best chance to observe Galápagos land tortoises in the wild. They were feeding and covered in volcanic mud while others were resting under the bushes looking for shade.
Our day in the central realm of the archipelago began on Santa Cruz Island. Our visit started in the morning in the town of Puerto Ayora located at the south end of the island.
Puerto Ayora is the largest town in the Galápagos with an approximate population of about 16000 people, many of whom are in one way or another related with tourism-related economic activities.
We went ashore to visit the head quarters of the Charles Darwin Research Center, which is now the home of the only remaining living land tortoise from the race of Pinta Island. He is well known as “Lonesome George” and has two female companions from Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island.
An important part of our visit to the Darwin Center is to observe the very successful breeding program for the Galápagos land tortoises as well as the chance to learn about the breeding program of the endemic Galápagos land iguanas.
After visiting the Darwin Center, we headed towards the town and had time to explore Puerto Ayora. For lunch we took some local buses and headed up into the highlands to a beautiful area covered in tall trees and greenery, and arrived at a very nice restaurant named “Altair.” There our guests enjoyed the swimming pool and a volleyball game before lunch, after which we chose one of a variety of ways to enjoy the afternoon.
Most of us went to visit the Scalesia cloud forest, an endemic genus belonging to the sunflower family that coats the area surrounding a couple of impressive pit craters. We had a wonderful time admiring the scenery and exploring the forest in search of the vermillion fly catcher, the woodpecker finch, vegetarian finch and some of the unique plants of the Galápagos Islands.
We went to a local ranch and had the best chance to observe Galápagos land tortoises in the wild. They were feeding and covered in volcanic mud while others were resting under the bushes looking for shade.
