We spent the entire day on my home island, Santa Cruz. This morning we visited the Giant Tortoise Breeding center and the Charles Darwin Research Station. These are the most successful programs run by the Galapagos National Park. Afterward we explored the town, and boarded buses to a local farm known as “El Trapiche” where our guests were able to experience how the first settlers lived and worked. We tried local products such as brown sugar, fresh sugar cane juice, local coffee, and sugar cane alcohol for the adults! After our session on the farm, we had a delicious lunch prepared in the highlands.

Guests also enjoyed a special talk from local scientists Anne Gezou, Freddy Cabrera and Ainoa Nieto who discussed the importance of the Galapagos giant tortoise, as well as preservation efforts being made. As a highlight to our day, our young explorers were able to track a giant tortoise that was baptized by the group as “Francisco.”