Santa Cruz Island
We spent our day on Santa Cruz Island in the central realm of the archipelago. Early today we headed to the Galápagos giant tortoises breeding center. We looked into the different corrals where the tortoises are kept and bred. We saw some of the juveniles feeding actively on vegetation while others walked around the lava rocks in their training corral. Sadly, famous Lonesome George passed away last Sunday, and the two females that lived with him for over a year are now the only inhabitants in his corral. We are all going to miss him and his characteristic saddleback shell, typical of the now-extinct Pinta population. We will never know how old he really was but it seems that his death was related to his old age.
The rest of the morning we went to town and had a great time exploring its colorful streets, and later in the morning we went to the highlands to bike, or to visit a very nice local school, “Tomas de Berlanga,” where we observed the way kids study in close contact with nature. We went to a sugar cane mill and had a great time learning the different things one can do with sugar cane and watched the whole process of making coffee; from the moment the fruits are handpicked until the final product gets to our hands.
After lunch we headed to a local farm that Galápagos giant tortoises use as part of their migratory route every year as they go to the higher regions of the island to find food and fresh water. We also explored a lava tunnel; there we walked inside and found a barn owl sleeping in the bushes near the entrance to the tunnel. One of the most interesting geological formations on this island is the pit craters, where, in addition to the geology, we also enjoyed the botany of the area. Here is where we find the Galápagos giant daisies, Galápagos coffee, and several species of ferns, lichens and mosses.
After spending our day on Santa Cruz we returned aboard and shared all the great moments from today.
