Santa Cruz Island
What a beautiful day we had today at Santa Cruz Island, the second largest island in the archipelago, and home to the largest human population. Puerto Ayora, a little cozy town, home to over 20,000 inhabitants, is the economic hub of the archipelago.
We landed on the small dock of the Galápagos National Park Service and walked to the Charles Darwin Research Station headquarters, where scientists gather information for the conservation of the island's unique biota.
Our main interest here was to visit one of the most significant and successful programs in the ecological restoration of the islands: the giant tortoise breeding program. We had the chance to see the Española Island individuals, baby tortoises born at the station from different islands, as well as other large tortoises involved with increasing the population. “Lonesome George”, was also out and being the last of his kind, we were looking at the sole individual from the Pinta Island race. When he dies, his race will vanish from the face of the earth. This reminded us that protecting the rest of Galápagos creatures from a similar fate is not an option for us, but an obligation.
After the station, we had a very different experience by seeing the human aspects of Galápagos, as we walked through town. Colorful art galleries, shops, boutiques and cafes, showed the island life, as well as the always interesting fish market where costumers from both sides, humans and animals, were making a line to “get” the catch of the day.
At the central plaza, we boarded a series of buses for a 30 minute drive to a highland farm bordering El Chato Tortoise Reserve. Along the way we made a short stop at the town of Bellavista where we had the chance to taste sugar cane juice, liquor made out of sugar cane juice and fresh organic coffee grown on the island. Before lunch, a few of us walked through a lava tunnel about ¼ of a mile long. It ended right alongside the restaurant where we had a hearty lunch. Following lunch, rubber boots were a must since it was raining quite hard.
Geared up with our boots, we went to an area of Galápagos located in the middle of the tortoise migratory route to search for wild tortoises. It was raining, and the vegetation was dense, but after a while we had the chance two find two of these magnificent creatures, one on the private property, and the other one on the National fields. Both males, as most of the females, at this time of the year, are 6 to 8 kms down in the lowlands of the island, where they usually nest.
We also had the chance to walk among the epiphyte-laden endemic Scalesia trees, one of the rarest and most endangered ecosystems in the Galápagos where we saw many ferns, orchids, and some species of Darwin's finches as well as the always interesting pit craters, empty lava chambers, proof of an important volcanic event on the past.
After this wonderful experience, we headed back to town for last minute shopping. At night, after dinner we were entertained by a group of local musicians, who kindly added music to our memories of a great day.
