Santa Cruz Island
Earlier this morning we arrived at Santa Cruz Island in the central realm of the archipelago. This morning we observed the many different aspects of the breeding program for the Galápagos giant tortoises; at the breeding center we saw baby tortoises as well as some of the adults in their corrals. One of the celebrities is the famous Lonesome George, and this morning we saw him sleeping while his female companions spent some time sunbathing. He is the last pure-breed Pinta tortoise, as in the past centuries human predation and the presence of goats reduced the population of giant tortoises to the minimum.
As we left the breeding center we went to the town of Puerto Ayora , the largest town in Galápagos. It is a small but very interesting town.
Then we headed to the highlands of Santa Cruz, where we went to a local farm and observed the local production of sugar, roasted coffee and aguardiente. We had a great time at this farm and later on we went to have lunch at another farm where our young guests played volleyball, and others swam and played in the pool.
This afternoon we went looking for Galápagos giant tortoises in the wild, and also walked in to a large lava tunnel. We saw several tortoises in their natural habitat. These animals are now in the process of migrating to the highlands – from now until January they will feed on the abundant vegetation in the moist uplands.
After a great day on Santa Cruz Island we returned aboard and got together for our evening recap.
