Santa Cruz
Today was a gorgeous day! We are told that it drizzled all day yesterday, that is, that there was “garua” all day long. This is after all the garua season, and so gray days with wet drizzle and mist are to be expected. But we lucked out today and by afternoon even felt some warm rays of the sun on our shoulders and backs. Back on the ship in the evening we were thrilled by a glorious pink and purple sunset and then the night fell and all that was left of the bustling town were twinkling lights along the shore.
We enjoyed our day in the largest town of Galápagos, Puerto Ayora. Approximately 18,000 - 20,000 inhabitants live in this energetic port town and the main source of jobs and income is, of course, tourism. But P.A. as it is called is also home to the headquarters of both the Galápagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station or CDRS. We visited the CDRS in the morning and our Naturalists Aura, Sofia and Greg showed and told us about their extremely successful tortoise captive breeding program. Celebrity male tortoises — “Lonesome George” (who is sadly the last of his species from the northern island of Pinta) and “Super Diego” (who came back from the San Diego Zoo and is responsible for a large number of the close to 2,000 repatriated Española individuals) were both fun to watch and photograph, as were the tiny “wind-up toy-like” hatchlings that are being raised in captivity and will soon be returned to the islands of their origin.
As we followed the road along the coast into town – shopping as we went – many of us stopped for a laugh and photographs at the fish market where greedy juvenile pelicans, a lava gull and a sea lion all vied for scraps as the fisherman were cleaning their catch. Colorful, friendly and quaint little shops were full to bursting with brightly colored t-shirts and clothing, souvenirs of many kinds and silver jewelry.
Boarding buses at the main town park, we headed into the lush green highlands and everyone in our group descended into a lava tunnel that was illuminated with a string of electric bulbs. We crossed for a quarter mile underground and climbed up and out of the tunnel at a rustic farm restaurant where we heaped our plates from a hearty buffet and enjoyed a well-earned lunch.
After lunch we went in search of giant tortoises in the wild. We were glad to find at least ten of these ancient reptiles lumbering along in the grassy pasture of El Chato farm. If we approached them slowly they were unafraid; but if we moved too quickly they exhaled air with a hiss, and pulled in their legs and neck. Later and higher up on the island we visited Los Gemelos pit craters where we found several species of finches, ferns, bromeliads and orchids (but not in flower). Back in town we shopped for “I Love Booby” T-shirts, handmade stuffed animals and other items that will remind us affectionately of Las Islas Encantadas once we return home.
