Santa Cruz is a large island with a population of about 20,000 people and incredible landscapes. It is an obligatory stop for all tourists that come to visit this beautiful corner of the world. The renowned Charles Darwin Station is based here, and has been running conservations projects to protect the unique local resources, together with the Galapagos National Park. One of the most prominent projects is the Giant Tortoise Breeding and Rearing Center, which houses several island tortoise species with the intention of bringing numbers up from decline, due mainly to predation by introduced species over the last two centuries.

Another similar project includes the breeding of another species of tortoise known as the saddleback, whose best representative is a male tortoise nicknamed Super Diego. Diego once lived in the San Diego Zoo and had to be return to Galapagos to join the only other survivors of his species, including twelve females and two males. Together they have produced more than two thousand tortoises since the 1970s, and today many of them have been repatriated back on their island of origin to breed on their own. This has been one of the most successful programs conducted by these institutions since this all began.

After this very interesting visit, we headed back through town, where some had the opportunity to do some shopping in the local galleries. We saw many interesting handcrafts created by people from different regions of Ecuador who have moved to live in the Galapagos.

After some free time to explore town, we gathered up the group to make our way to the highlands by bus. We visited a local farm en route, where we learned their methods of producing liquor, brown sugar, and molasses out of sugar cane. They also produce coffee, and our guests enjoyed the opportunity to sample some of these fresh treats.

During a Galapagos expedition, one of the most anticipated sightings is wild giant tortoises, and today we were at the right place to find them roaming free. We encountered many of them during our hike, doing various activities like sleeping, eating, bathing and more.

We also had the opportunity to see the incredible lava tubes that exist here in the highlands, one of the amazing geological feature of this island.