Santa Cruz
This morning we jumped into the Zodiacs following breakfast, motored to shore and landed on the cement docks of the Galápagos National Park. Garua mist dripped on our faces and the highlands of the island were shrouded in low gray clouds. Following a narrow paved road, cinder trails and finally a wooden boardwalk, we made our way into the tortoise breeding center of the National Park and Charles Darwin Research Station. Here we learned about the successful captive breeding program and the repatriation of hundreds of young tortoises to the islands of their origin. Our naturalists showed us Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island tortoise. Pinta was overrun by goats in the 1960’s and 70’s and fishermen carried off many tortoises from this northern island. George is the last of his species and as he has not been either willing or able to breed with closely related females that have shared his corral, it seems that he will leave no offspring when he dies.
We enjoyed looking at — and snapping countless photos of — dozens of hatchling tortoises that will be cared for until they are several years old and no longer vulnerable to introduced predators. Then they will be transported to the islands that they came from and released into the wild.
We strolled through town shopping and sightseeing as we went and when we reached the main plaza we boarded buses to the highlands and “Rancho El Chato.” Many of us climbed down into a lava tube and crossed underground for a quarter of a mile, popping up out of the ground at the restaurant where we had a hearty meal.
We returned to the buses and went for a twenty-minute drive to a farm owned by longtime resident Steve Divine. Here we were thrilled to find at least 80 giant tortoises – some were eating, others were walking, 15 were soaking in a greenish pool and several were comfortably stretched out and resting. We were equally delighted by the sudden appearance of two very bright red vermillion flycatchers! Some of us even observed, thanks to the expert eyes of our naturalists, a woodpecker finch.
Before returning to the ship many of us visited the souvenir shops of Puerto Ayora once again; we were only too happy to help the local economy with our purchases. The Zodiacs ran every hour from the dock and by 1800 we had all returned to the ship. Tonight following dinner a group of local musicians and dancers played, sang and danced for us and we headed off to our cabins with smiles on our faces. Another lovely day in the enchanted islands!
