Santa Cruz Island
Santa Cruz, our destination island of today, is the second largest of the Galápagos archipelago. After breakfast we disembarked and made our way to the worldwide known Charles Darwin Research Station. Founded in 1964, this research station has played a vital role in the recovery of various threatened species of these islands. Primarily, it has worked in the restoration of the Galápagos giant tortoises, many species of which were at the brink of extinction in the past decades.
Throughout our visit to the station we were educated about and had a close overview of the different stages of the captive breeding of these gentle giants. And there were some fantastic news added to this wonderful visit: some hours previous to our visit, a second nest had been located in the corral of the most famous guest of the Charles Darwin Research Station: Lonesome George. George is the last individual of the Pinta species of giant tortoise, and thought to be at least 100 years old. He was found in the early 1970’s, and although he’s been accompanied by females of a related tortoise species for many years, he had never shown any real interest in mating with them. A couple of weeks ago, George hit the headlines worldwide for becoming a potential father, as a first clutch of eggs was discovered in his corral, produced by one of his two female companions. Now, with a second clutch of eggs, it will take a couple of months until the scientists can finally establish and reveal whether the eggs are viable or not, but the fact that George has finally decided to mate with the females is already a huge success.
After the visit to the Research Station, we headed to Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz’s main town. It is a lively and busy town, with an approximate population of 15,000 people. A local bus took us to the highlands of the island, where a delicious lunch awaited for us.
In the early afternoon, we continued with our exploration of the highlands and its humid areas. An almost constant garua, as the mist is locally called, keeps this area evergreen, a great contrast with the arid zones we visit during the rest of our cruise. Here, we had a wonderful opportunity to observe several species of land birds, like the small tree and warbler finches. A few of us were lucky enough to observe, at least briefly, the sighting of a dark-billed cuckoo or a Galápagos rail. And how lucky we felt when we were able to observe, just within a few meters, a couple of territorial male vermillion flycatchers! During the hike we were also lucky enough to find several giant tortoises, roaming in the wild. The day was long, but it was certainly filled with magical experiences and the natural beauty of the Enchanted Islands.
Santa Cruz, our destination island of today, is the second largest of the Galápagos archipelago. After breakfast we disembarked and made our way to the worldwide known Charles Darwin Research Station. Founded in 1964, this research station has played a vital role in the recovery of various threatened species of these islands. Primarily, it has worked in the restoration of the Galápagos giant tortoises, many species of which were at the brink of extinction in the past decades.
Throughout our visit to the station we were educated about and had a close overview of the different stages of the captive breeding of these gentle giants. And there were some fantastic news added to this wonderful visit: some hours previous to our visit, a second nest had been located in the corral of the most famous guest of the Charles Darwin Research Station: Lonesome George. George is the last individual of the Pinta species of giant tortoise, and thought to be at least 100 years old. He was found in the early 1970’s, and although he’s been accompanied by females of a related tortoise species for many years, he had never shown any real interest in mating with them. A couple of weeks ago, George hit the headlines worldwide for becoming a potential father, as a first clutch of eggs was discovered in his corral, produced by one of his two female companions. Now, with a second clutch of eggs, it will take a couple of months until the scientists can finally establish and reveal whether the eggs are viable or not, but the fact that George has finally decided to mate with the females is already a huge success.
After the visit to the Research Station, we headed to Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz’s main town. It is a lively and busy town, with an approximate population of 15,000 people. A local bus took us to the highlands of the island, where a delicious lunch awaited for us.
In the early afternoon, we continued with our exploration of the highlands and its humid areas. An almost constant garua, as the mist is locally called, keeps this area evergreen, a great contrast with the arid zones we visit during the rest of our cruise. Here, we had a wonderful opportunity to observe several species of land birds, like the small tree and warbler finches. A few of us were lucky enough to observe, at least briefly, the sighting of a dark-billed cuckoo or a Galápagos rail. And how lucky we felt when we were able to observe, just within a few meters, a couple of territorial male vermillion flycatchers! During the hike we were also lucky enough to find several giant tortoises, roaming in the wild. The day was long, but it was certainly filled with magical experiences and the natural beauty of the Enchanted Islands.
