Puerto Ayora is by far the largest town in Galapagos with over 25,000 inhabitants. The town is also the home of the Galapagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station, two of the most well-known conservation institutions in the world.
We visited the breeding center and enjoyed seeing the hatchlings that have been born here over the last few years. These tortoises are getting stronger, so they may be repatriated to their islands of origin. There were adult tortoises too and it was very interesting to learn more about their behavior.
After our visit to the Research Center we walked along the main street of Puerto Ayora, a busy little town that has all kinds of attractions, art galleries, restaurants and shops. One of the main attractions is the fishermen’s dock, it is full of activity.
We then boarded buses for a drive to the highlands, stopping in the agricultural town of Bellavista where we watched fire water being made out of sugar cane. After lunch we went to a private farm where we went out to look for giant tortoises.
There were a few males found in the area, however most of the females have already migrated to the low lands to nest. The tired males, after 200 years of following the females down, have finally learned that the females will come back and now wait for them up here. Seeing the giants up close was just wonderful to photograph and also fascinating to observe these ancient reptiles in their natural habitat.
After a busy, hot day we came back onboard and got ready to settle down and learn about the surprises our last day in the islands will bring…
