Today is one of the most unusual days of our expedition in the Galápagos archipelago, because we visit a populated Island, Santa Cruz. Puerto Ayora, the main town of the island, is where we started our day.
Clear skies and sunshine gave us a warm welcome to the Charles Darwin Station, the home of several hundred giant tortoises. The rearing center of this site let us see little hatchlings, which eventually were going to be repatriated to their islands of origin. Our guests learned a lot about the Island’s conservation and all the procedures done locally to restore the populations of giant tortoises in the Galápagos. Along with the hatchlings, full size adult tortoises and land iguanas were seen at the center.
Later in the morning our guests had some time on their own to explore the exotic town of Puerto Ayora and its wonders; for some this became a great shopping opportunity.
Our morning continued on board local buses, to discover the highlands of Santa Cruz, a very distinctive place very different to all the places we have seen so far in the Galápagos; perhaps why it caught everybody’s attention was the lush vegetation and tall trees, similar to a cloud forest. Before going to the restaurant for lunch, we stopped at “El Trapiche,” a sugar cane mill, owned by local people, they were very friendly showing us around, and the products prepared out of sugar cane juice, such as panela and moonshine.
After a wonderful luncheon with a nice breeze and a sea view, all guests went to visit the highlands of Santa Cruz, on the lookout for the endemic tortoises. It was a successful outing, many tortoises were seen and many of which were humongous.
Our day was very exceptional, with a mix of flora, fauna, and culture of the Galapagueños (Citizens from the Galápagos).
