Santa Cruz Island
We arrived this morning in Academy Bay near the town of Puerto Ayora, which is home to the Galápagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station. The Park and the Station are partners in conservation. Together they coordinate both research and restoration. Today we visited rock walled corrals where giant tortoises live in captivity. Their offspring are raised and then repatriated to the islands of their origin to increase the populations in the wild.
Over the years thousands of baby tortoises have been released into the wild, and now some of them are breeding naturally. We observed and photographed the most famous single male tortoise in the whole world, Lonesome George. He spends his days in the company of two females from Isabela Island, and this morning we witnessed his interactions with his lady friends.
After we left the Darwin Station, we walked through town to shop and browse the many small stores that line the road in this inhabited area of the Galápagos Archipelago. We then met at the main park and boarded buses for a bumpy ride into the highlands where we walked underground in a lava tunnel. These tunnels were formed during volcanic eruptions long ago, and for us, they are one of the best ways to understand the volcanic origins of the archipelago. Conveniently, we popped out right next to an open air restaurant and where we ate a bountiful buffet lunch.
In the afternoon, we explored the highlands of Santa Cruz where wild Galápagos giant tortoises live in complete freedom. Some of these slow moving reptiles were observed feeding on grass, while others were taking siestas hidden under the dense vegetation. Afterwards we continued higher along the road and reached two pit craters formed by a collapse thousands of years ago. The “gemelos” as they are called, are surrounded by a spectacular and unique giant Galápagos daisy forest where we walked and examined the vegetation and searched for finches. It had been another wonderful day!
We arrived this morning in Academy Bay near the town of Puerto Ayora, which is home to the Galápagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station. The Park and the Station are partners in conservation. Together they coordinate both research and restoration. Today we visited rock walled corrals where giant tortoises live in captivity. Their offspring are raised and then repatriated to the islands of their origin to increase the populations in the wild.
Over the years thousands of baby tortoises have been released into the wild, and now some of them are breeding naturally. We observed and photographed the most famous single male tortoise in the whole world, Lonesome George. He spends his days in the company of two females from Isabela Island, and this morning we witnessed his interactions with his lady friends.
After we left the Darwin Station, we walked through town to shop and browse the many small stores that line the road in this inhabited area of the Galápagos Archipelago. We then met at the main park and boarded buses for a bumpy ride into the highlands where we walked underground in a lava tunnel. These tunnels were formed during volcanic eruptions long ago, and for us, they are one of the best ways to understand the volcanic origins of the archipelago. Conveniently, we popped out right next to an open air restaurant and where we ate a bountiful buffet lunch.
In the afternoon, we explored the highlands of Santa Cruz where wild Galápagos giant tortoises live in complete freedom. Some of these slow moving reptiles were observed feeding on grass, while others were taking siestas hidden under the dense vegetation. Afterwards we continued higher along the road and reached two pit craters formed by a collapse thousands of years ago. The “gemelos” as they are called, are surrounded by a spectacular and unique giant Galápagos daisy forest where we walked and examined the vegetation and searched for finches. It had been another wonderful day!
