Santa Cruz Island
The day began with the sun rising amongst the clouds over the horizon; it stayed sunny, with no rainfall throughout the day. We were anchored in the southern part of Santa Cruz, at Academy Bay. The highlight of the day was our visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station and the Tortoise Breeding Center, but the day was full of surprises.
During the visit to the corrals where the young tortoises are kept we witnessed how a little tortoise that fell and ended upside down took less than a minute to get back on its feet, and continued to walk among the lava rocks. Several Darwin finches moved amongst the vegetation and on the ground, and with dedication, proceeded to pick and select different seeds, later flying away with their prizes. Different lava lizards moved along the rocks as the sun began to heat their bodies and the active part of the day started.
Once the visit ended it was time to explore Puerto Ayora. After a short walk we found the assigned area to board buses and, according to their choices, some groups began a bicycle ride to the restaurant while others visited the “Fray Tomas de Berlanga” school that Lindblad Expeditions supports. Before lunch we visited a local farm that still uses old systems to produce several products made from sugar cane; the most interesting part was observing how a donkey is used to move the gears that squeeze the sugar cane and obtain the juice that will be used to manufacture several products, including fermented juice for alcohol. The next step was travelling by bus a very short distance to the farm where we had lunch.
During lunch we had a pleasant surprise—a barn owl was in the restaurant..!. After eating our lunch in this beautiful restaurant in the highlands, it was time to try our rubber boots, as the walk involved moving along a wet and slightly muddy terrain. The ride in the bus to the farm where tortoises roam was short; before arriving to the area where we would be close to these wild creatures we started to see several “moving domes” all over the place. A light breeze blew and the sun was out, creating perfect weather conditions.
After we disembarked from the bus we had our encounter with these gentle giants; some were feeding, others moving around at high speed—well, high speed for a gigantic tortoise—and we could eventually reach most of them, having a beautiful moment that had we all anticipated throughout the day. Suddenly a white-cheeked pintail duck flew into the pond and landed next to a gigantic tortoise that was drinking water; it stayed in that small pond until we left the area, sharing this small space with the tortoises around it.
The day ended in town with a visit to different shops, and after that returning on board. During dinner a local musical group played Andean music and after dinner played more songs. Finally it was time to rest and get ready for another day of exploration in the Galápagos Islands.
