Santa Cruz Island
This was the fourth day of our expedition and we visited the island of Santa Cruz. After breakfast we disembarked at Puerto Ayora to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station. Here we were able to show and teach our guests about the importance of the protection and preservation of the Galápagos.
Here we saw one of the icons of Galápagos: Lone some George is the sole survivor from Pinta Island. The Pinta tortoises were hunted by various people who came through the islands until they were almost extinct. One day, more than two decades ago, fishermen found this huge individual and told the park authorities so they could rescue him. Now he has two ladies to keep him company and hopefully reproduce (fingers crossed).
We also saw Diego, a male tortoise from the island of Española. He was taken by the San Diego Zoo expedition. Back in the 60’s, the National Park found out that tortoises here were about to go exticnt because there were not enough mature males to reproduce. So the zoo sent its inhabitant back and oh boy, he has been working hard; more than 1,600 individuals have been sent back to Española, and are being succefull. Along with the giant tortoises, we also saw lots of diferent types of finches, giant pricly pear cactus and plants that are unique to Santa Cruz.
Right after this we gave people some time so they could explore the town of Puerto Ayora and see how the locals live. Then we drove up to the highlands, where we had a wonderfull lunch at a beautiful restaurant. After lunch we went further up into the highlands to see the giant Scalesia (daisy) forest. We also saw the wood pecker finch and three other finches too.
Our finale was the chance to interact with the giant tortoises in the wild. We are in the wet season now, which has turned the vegetation very lush. They tortoises here are huge, about 500 pounds, and they look prehistoric.
After dinner we surprised the guests with a nice floklorique music and dance show that displays our music and culture. Guests got warmed up and joined in the dancing too. What a great day!
