Santa Cruz Island
My home island by choice is Santa Cruz. Even though I was born in a different place in Ecuador, the large coastal city of Guayaquil, I chose this enchanted archipelago for many reasons. One of them is the ocean itself: being surrounded by the sea in a place where animals know nothing about fear inspired me to move to the Galápagos. And I chose Puerto Ayora as my home town because it is a lovely setting where people are kind and cheerful.
This morning we visited my town, and I enjoyed sharing it with our guests. We saw how people live in the islands, but also we learned about the great conservation projects at the Charles Darwin Station and National Park headquarters. There we saw Galápagos giant tortoises, babies and adults – part of the breeding programs.
In the afternoon, we chose from among several options. Some went straight to the area where tortoises walk in the wild, counting up to twenty moving around, feeding on the grasses, and thriving in the cool temperatures of the highlands. Other guests combined this option with an expedition higher into the highlands, where sunken pit craters are covered in dense, endemic cloud forests: the perfect habitat to look for the vermillion flycatcher and new kinds of Darwin’s finches.
Back on board, after a great meal, there was a fantastic show for us with musicians and dancers from my home town. I love coming to Santa Cruz Island!
My home island by choice is Santa Cruz. Even though I was born in a different place in Ecuador, the large coastal city of Guayaquil, I chose this enchanted archipelago for many reasons. One of them is the ocean itself: being surrounded by the sea in a place where animals know nothing about fear inspired me to move to the Galápagos. And I chose Puerto Ayora as my home town because it is a lovely setting where people are kind and cheerful.
This morning we visited my town, and I enjoyed sharing it with our guests. We saw how people live in the islands, but also we learned about the great conservation projects at the Charles Darwin Station and National Park headquarters. There we saw Galápagos giant tortoises, babies and adults – part of the breeding programs.
In the afternoon, we chose from among several options. Some went straight to the area where tortoises walk in the wild, counting up to twenty moving around, feeding on the grasses, and thriving in the cool temperatures of the highlands. Other guests combined this option with an expedition higher into the highlands, where sunken pit craters are covered in dense, endemic cloud forests: the perfect habitat to look for the vermillion flycatcher and new kinds of Darwin’s finches.
Back on board, after a great meal, there was a fantastic show for us with musicians and dancers from my home town. I love coming to Santa Cruz Island!
