Santa Cruz Island
Santa Cruz Island day is for tortoises, for the giant creatures of the Galápagos. And we did have plenty of them, with approximately 30 in the wild plus the famous ones at the National Park Service breeding center.
But Santa Cruz is also our opportunity to learn about those who inhabit the islands, their customs, farming traditions, and way of living. So in between tortoise visits we went to a Trapiche, which is a sugar cane press farm where we saw the whole operation for the production of sugar and alcohol. Every member of the Cabrera family was there to explain, step-by-step, the different procedures.
And we visited their plantations too, with sugar cane, plantains, coffee; plants that no one can imagine growing in the Galápagos. But there are people living here and there are visitors coming every day to the enchanted islands, so there must be some sort of food production. It is artisanal, and also very healthy and fresh. Guests were delighted, and tried it all.
This week we are also learning about the Galápagos culture from four teachers from the islands who are sharing the expedition with us. This is one of my favorite Lindblad-National Geographic programs—Teachers on Board—inviting educators to visit their own home islands, the park areas that are not accessible without a permit from the National Park, an assigned itinerary and licensed naturalist.
Our trip has it all; we learn about natural history and human history, we snorkel, hike, kayak, and we also party, that’s for sure! Like last night in our Fusion Halloween gathering, a celebration that combined both U.S. and Ecuadorian traditions. We are having so much fun!
