Santa Cruz
We awoke to find National Geographic Islander at anchor in Academy Bay, off the island of Santa Cruz. The bay was named for the California Academy of Sciences, which made important scientific expeditions to Galápagos in the early 1900s. The town of Puerto Ayora, nestled behind the bay, is the largest urban area in Galapagos. Recent census estimates of 20,000-plus inhabitants in this port town are a bit of a surprise to many of the international visitors to the islands. Most of the townies’ income is from tourism, but fishing and agriculture are also important occupations; in addition a fair number of the men and women of Puerto Ayora work for the National Park and Charles Darwin Station as both of these organizations have their headquarters here.
We braved a rough sea and hopped into the Zodiacs that took us very slowly – because of an extremely low tide – to the National Park dock. From here we followed a paved road, cinder trails and a boardwalk to the tortoise rearing center. We enjoyed seeing tiny hatchling tortoises as well as the huge mature males and females. We spied Lonesome George, surely the best know giant tortoise in the world, and our Naturalists explained his sad story – he is the last of his species – but also told us of the incredible success of the captive breeding program.
We walked “the T-shirt mile,” shopping and snapping photos as we went, and we were pleased with the chance to spend time poking around the numerous brightly colored shops in this clean, friendly town. At the wharf, fishermen cleaning their catch were surrounded by pelicans, endemic lava gulls and sea lions begging for scraps. At the main town square we boarded small buses for a half-hour trip into the lush, green highlands. Many of our group descended into a lava tube and crossed underground for about a quarter of a mile, to emerge again at the “Rancho El Chato” restaurant.
After a hearty and wonderfully varied buffet lunch we went in search of giant tortoises among the bushes and grasses of the nearby pastures. We were delighted to find more than a dozen of these huge lumbering reptiles; some were grazing, some resting, some were soaking in a pool and some slowly walking along on thick elephantine feet. Everyone had ample time for taking pictures and the chance to watch these ancient creatures in their natural habitat.
Our final stop of the day was at Los Gemelos pit craters where we ducked into the dense daisy forest and struggled with Darwin finch identification. There were tree and ground finches – small, medium and large – and best of all a woodpecker finch with a tool! A rare bird that is very rarely seen with a tool – our naturalist guides nearly fainted with ecstasy!
Back we went down to the town for a bit more shopping – we certainly did help the economy of Puerto Ayora today! After dinner we had a great time dancing to Andean music performed by the local group of musicians and dancers “Ecoarte.” WOW – another superb day in the Enchanted Isles of Galápagos!
