Santa Cruz
What a wonderful day we had. It started with breakfast, anchored in Academy Bay, which was decorated with many boats. This is the busiest harbor in all of Galápagos and therefore the most colorful in many ways. Some of the sailboats that were there are clearly from people sailing around the world and looking for an alternative way of traveling and learning about the world. We are a group of over 90 people on board and have been able discover the wonders of the islands in their most pristine status.
Today at the Charles Darwin Research Station we learned how the tortoise rearing center works. This showed us the importance of maintaining a program that has been so successful that now there is proof that the tortoise population is in a better state than when Charles Darwin was here. Many groups were visiting the famous Lonesome George tortoise from Pinta Island. It was very easy to see him this time and we had some mixed feelings about seeing the last individual of this species. He was found by accident by some scientists which were on the island searching for snails. Without realizing it, they had photographed the animal which had visited their tent during their stay. This photographed event was one of the key things to help look for the long thought lost tortoise from Pinta Island. Many years have passed and he still gets people interested in him worldwide. There were several other corrals which allowed us to learn about other species and cleared our view of the status of the tortoises program.
The walk through town was much unexpected because many of us were not ready to see so many souvenir shops and galleries. Most of us bought some sort of a present to take home and felt good about supporting the local economy which seems to be coping well with the fact that they are living within the boundaries of one of the most famous National Parks in the world.
Lunch at the highlands came as a treat. The surroundings were outstanding and the swimming pool was used by some of our young explorers. The weather was a bit cooler and we all appreciated being away from the heat in town.
Our day’s excursions continued. We searched for the tortoises in their natural habitat and were able to find a few. Another new thing we learned today was about the lava tunnels. We saw the entrance of one that was right in the area where the tortoises live. It’s a wonder that they don’t fall in there more often. Some of these tunnels are hard to find when covered in vegetation.
The day in Puerto Ayora ended and after dinner we had live music played by a local group which serenaded us and made some of us get up on our feet and dance. We went to sleep thinking how lucky we are to have been able to spend another great day in paradise.
