Santa Cruz Island
So far so good! We are having a great expedition in this enchanted paradise, the Galápagos Islands. This week we have, just like in prior weeks, a wholehearted group. Our expedition brought us today to the second largest island of the archipelago, Santa Cruz. The capital of this island, Puerto Ayora is an effervescent and active town. Puerto Ayora is home to the Galápagos National Park (GNP) headquarters and the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) as well. The world renowned Charles Darwin Research Station is home to many Galápagos giant tortoises for there is a breeding center running successfully here. Today we observed many juvenile tortoises in their pens, the famous Lonesome George and Diego and learned about what has been done in order to save these giants of the Galápagos Islands.
After visiting the Darwin Centre we went to the highlands of Santa Cruz. We all made a brief but fascinating stop, we visited Bellavista Town where a local Galápagos family showed us how they cultivate, process and make a living by growing sugar cane and coffee. We tasted the sugar cane fresh squeezed juice, local bread and sipped delicious cups of coffee.
After regaining energy with these fabulous snacks, we went farther into the island with the great task of being part of a re-forestation project in one of the most endangered ecosystems in Galápagos, the giant daisy (Scalesia pedunculata) forest of the highlands of Santa Cruz Island. With tools in hand, guests cultivated 300 new endemic plants, contributing to the conservation and the restoration of this fragile ecosystem of the islands. For me today it was very special, for I could see how enthusiastic the young crowd we had onboard this week was. The children and teenagers worked hard planting their trees with the hope that they grow, giving life to the islands.
We had lunch at a picturesque local restaurant, run by a Galápagos family, after it a bus ride took us to see the giant tortoises in the wild. We saw a couple of them and we all had the rare but unforgettable opportunity to contemplate in a relaxed fashion, while mingling among these antediluvian- looking giants.
Later in the afternoon, in our way back to the town many of our guests had the joy to walk along the streets of Puerto Ayora. Sightseeing and shopping were popular activities that allowed our guests to take home handicrafts and memories of this fantastic expedition. The main street of the town, aptly named Charles Darwin Avenue, constitutes a vital part of this community, and it is where most of the restaurants souvenir shops are located.
While writing these paragraphs I still feel the happiness that a group of local professional dancers and musicians brought onboard. They performed live music for us as a golden finale of this day in our lives that was dedicated in its totality to the conservation of this magical archipelago, and to the most emblematic animal species not only in the Galápagos but in Ecuador, the amazing Galápagos Giant Tortoises.
