We visited the Charles Darwin Research Station this morning and our guests had a chance to see giant tortoises "up close and personal." The animals that are in captivity at CDRS are individuals that were taken from a number of different islands many years ago and later confiscated by the National Park Service. In this photo some of our guests are watching several of the enormous male tortoises feeding.
Today we lunched in the lush highlands of Santa Cruz Island at a lovely restaurant, which is surrounded by introduced fruit trees and flowering shrubs. After our meal we had a choice of outings: to visit pit craters, search for tortoises in the wild or to return to the bustling town of Puerto Ayora and the ship. The hikes were successful and everyone who went on them was well rewarded for their efforts. We found more than twenty huge, slow-moving tortoises and enjoyed the opportunity to watch them in their natural habitat. The birders among us were thrilled with close looks at both the brilliant red vermilion flycatcher and the endemic woodpecker finch. This tiny, drab bird is one of only a few birds in the world that uses a tool (a cactus spin or a small twig). These finches use a twig as a probe to help them feed on the worms and grubs that hide under tree bark.
To complete this full and interesting day, we listened to folkloric music and danced to tunes played by an Andean musical group that came on board the Polaris after dinner. We are navigating towards Tower tonight and ready for yet another fabulous day in the islands tomorrow.
