Santa Cruz Island
Today we started our day anchored at Academy Bay, which is named after the expedition made by the California’s Academy of Science in the early 1900’s, on Santa Cruz in the central part of the archipelago.
After a short “panga ride” we disembarked in Puerto Ayora, the largest town in Galápagos. Shortly after our disembarkation we headed to the giant tortoises breeding center run by the Galápagos National Park and the Darwin Research Station. There we learned how they breed tortoises in captivity, being one of the most successful conservation programs in the world.
Later on, our guests had some free time to explore the town. We then took buses to have lunch in the highlands. On our way we stopped by a locally owned sugar mill where we saw how the first settlers produced sugar. Some of our guest visited the Tomas de Berlanga School and other went mountain biking. Then we all gathered at a beautiful restaurant for lunch; after doing so many activities we had some time to relax and play a volleyball game at the restaurant.
In the afternoon we took the buses to continue to the highlands to visit the giant tortoises in the wild. We went to a privately owned farm, which is located on the migration route of these reptiles. At the farm we did an interesting hike around the property where we found a lava tube and many giant tortoises wandering in the area, it was a great experience. Shortly after our visit we headed back to town and back to National Geographic Endeavour. Finally we finished our day with the presentation of a local band of musicians from town on board. What a nice way to finish another day in paradise.
