Southern Isabela Island
It was not too long ago when we saw the faces of our guests for the very first time at the airport, and now, after only four days of our experience together in the Galápagos we are practically long time friends! This feeling of “fast growing friendship” is something unique when you experience one of the Lindblad trips. I suppose it evolves rapidly among people with the same interest in knowledge, traveling and protection of our planet… in few words, people that care!
Our experience in the Galápagos archipelago together would be something hard to forget, since we are getting to know and learn so much.
Today is the perfect example of it since we not only had a good time, but we also got to know the problems that the islands have been immersed in ever since the beginning of the whaling era in the South Pacific. A visit to the breeding center in Southern Isabela was the gateway for many questions concerning the protection of the emblematic reptiles that practically represents the Galápagos in the world, the giant tortoises. It was here where naturalists explained fully the problems with introduced feral goats and pigs, being the animals that are damaging the ecosystem the most. But the good news is that we are not simply acknowledging the problem, we are doing something about it! The community at the small town of Pto. Villamil is actively involved with the problems and the conservation issues of the islands, and it is there where our hope stands a chance. Even the small children at Villamil had formed various local “clubs,” helping in many ways to spread the word of awareness to the local community and to the world, giving us not only hope but reassurance that the islands would be in good hands in the future!
It was not too long ago when we saw the faces of our guests for the very first time at the airport, and now, after only four days of our experience together in the Galápagos we are practically long time friends! This feeling of “fast growing friendship” is something unique when you experience one of the Lindblad trips. I suppose it evolves rapidly among people with the same interest in knowledge, traveling and protection of our planet… in few words, people that care!
Our experience in the Galápagos archipelago together would be something hard to forget, since we are getting to know and learn so much.
Today is the perfect example of it since we not only had a good time, but we also got to know the problems that the islands have been immersed in ever since the beginning of the whaling era in the South Pacific. A visit to the breeding center in Southern Isabela was the gateway for many questions concerning the protection of the emblematic reptiles that practically represents the Galápagos in the world, the giant tortoises. It was here where naturalists explained fully the problems with introduced feral goats and pigs, being the animals that are damaging the ecosystem the most. But the good news is that we are not simply acknowledging the problem, we are doing something about it! The community at the small town of Pto. Villamil is actively involved with the problems and the conservation issues of the islands, and it is there where our hope stands a chance. Even the small children at Villamil had formed various local “clubs,” helping in many ways to spread the word of awareness to the local community and to the world, giving us not only hope but reassurance that the islands would be in good hands in the future!
