Santa Cruz Island
Today was a day for edifying encounters, dedicated to friendship, conservation, education and, of course, having fun. During our first visit we found Diego, the famous Española tortoise, pretty devoted to making sure his kind survives. Thanks to Diego and two other males from this island (together with 12 females) more than 1500 baby tortoises have already been repatriated to Española. They are recolonizing their home, ensuring that the saddleback subspecies, one of the eleven different species in the Galápagos, recovers in numbers and health. It was all good news at the National Park Tortoise Breeding Center!
We continued on to discover a lovely town, Puerto Ayora, colorful and very much alive. Fishermen cleaned their catch at Pelican Bay while kids played and pelicans and sea lions patiently waited for leftovers. Guests and inhabitants communicated well. There was no need for words; wide and sincere smiles were enough.
Before lunch we visited a lovely family in the highlands who showed us the different plants they grow to make their living. We learned how to extract juice and process alcohol from sugar cane and tried the delicious organic coffee grown on their land. And what about having more fun! Many of our guests rode bicycles to the restaurant where we had lunch, jumped in the pool, and played volleyball; we have some pretty energetic little people on board.
There were several options in the afternoon, like searching for tortoises in the wild, walking through the scalesia forest, an endemic plant that grows up to 1800 feet high, or enjoying more shopping in town. And to celebrate our new adventures, musicians came from Puerto Ayora to give us a taste of Galápaguenian folklore.
Good friends of Lindblad Expeditions–National Geographic joined us for dinner on board the National Geographic Endeavour. We have been part of the Galápagos community for 15 years now, giving back to the islands in so many different ways, and maintaining an open and constant dialogue with the local organizations. In the photo, to the left of Sven Lindblad, is Reyna Oleas, director of Fundacion Scalesia, a foundation running an excellent school that Lindblad-National Geographic supports with 21 scholarships per year. To Sven’s right is Stuart Banks, director of the Charles Darwin Research Station, a non-governmental organization dedicated for more than 50 years to research and education in the Galápagos Islands. Standing behind is Ros Cameron, also a Darwin Station representative, and all the way to the right is Willy Seitz, our hotel manager. We shared laughs, thoughts and dreams with a man whose creative mind is always seeking ways to inspire people to explore and care about the planet, Sven Lindblad.
