Santa Cruz Island
Very subtly! Very quietly! We approached the tortoises as silently as possible, even though it was noisy around. It was impossible to ignore the enthusiasm of everyone visiting the tortoise rearing center. The experience of being face to face with these ancient reptiles was overwhelming. We mostly focused on the two famous individuals “Lonesome George” and “Diego”. These tortoises are, genetically speaking, closely related, yet are so different at the same time! Diego has become a reproduction machine, a proud father of hundreds of baby tortoises while George, well, George is more reserved about his acts. Two nests have been recently discovered in George’s enclosure, the only ones in 32 years! George has been living with the company of two females for a long time without achieving successful reproduction.
The afternoon came with very pleasant weather, somehow wet, somehow dry. We had the company of many Darwin finches and other bird species like cattle egrets and Galápagos doves, but once again like in the morning the majestic tortoises were the focus of attention. We were also immersed in the exuberant vegetation of the highlands. We appreciated in particular the beautiful and tiny water plant Limna sp. that is covering the surface of the little dripping ponds tortoises visit to drink water. We were satisfied knowing that the Galápagos had entered under our skin, deep into our nerves and senses, and we now know that at this pace, the islands are going to be there waiting not only for us, but also for our children and hopefully for our grandchildren too..
Very subtly! Very quietly! We approached the tortoises as silently as possible, even though it was noisy around. It was impossible to ignore the enthusiasm of everyone visiting the tortoise rearing center. The experience of being face to face with these ancient reptiles was overwhelming. We mostly focused on the two famous individuals “Lonesome George” and “Diego”. These tortoises are, genetically speaking, closely related, yet are so different at the same time! Diego has become a reproduction machine, a proud father of hundreds of baby tortoises while George, well, George is more reserved about his acts. Two nests have been recently discovered in George’s enclosure, the only ones in 32 years! George has been living with the company of two females for a long time without achieving successful reproduction.
The afternoon came with very pleasant weather, somehow wet, somehow dry. We had the company of many Darwin finches and other bird species like cattle egrets and Galápagos doves, but once again like in the morning the majestic tortoises were the focus of attention. We were also immersed in the exuberant vegetation of the highlands. We appreciated in particular the beautiful and tiny water plant Limna sp. that is covering the surface of the little dripping ponds tortoises visit to drink water. We were satisfied knowing that the Galápagos had entered under our skin, deep into our nerves and senses, and we now know that at this pace, the islands are going to be there waiting not only for us, but also for our children and hopefully for our grandchildren too..
