What a fantastic day on tortoise island! Today we visited Santa Cruz Island, known for the largest population of humans and for its charismatic tortoises. Santa Cruz is home to the Tortoise Breeding Center and the Charles Darwin Foundation, where we can see tortoises engaged in their usual activities in the wild: feeding, resting, and mating.

We started the day by visiting the Breeding Center to learn about the work for tortoise conservation. Then we visited two local farms to learn about the organic production of fruits, coffee, and moonshine. Lunch was served at El Manzanillo, a privately owned ranch that happens to be in the middle of the migration route of tortoises. We ended the day by walking along the path and learning about tortoises’ behavior in the wild.

Today was an important day for our guests and for the conservation of the Galapagos Islands!