Santa Cruz Island
Today early in the morning we disembarked at the Galápagos National Park’s dock to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, where the rearing of Giant Tortoises takes place. The Galápagos National Park has taken over the facility, overseeing the well-being of these incredible animals. Since ancient times, until the early settlers, these creatures where slaughtered for meat and fuel for oil lamps. Today we learned about the efforts of the Galápagos National Park Service to protect and preserve the symbolic species of the Galápagos Islands, the Galápagos Giant Tortoises. When the Park was established in 1959, a survey was done in the islands to establish the status of the population of tortoises. Numbers of these gentle giants had diminished dangerously, and a program was started to restore their populations. This program was based on breeding tortoises in captivity and releasing the babies in restored locations. We saw juveniles, learned about their incubation system and also saw several giant adult individuals. Their numbers have increased enough to put some of the populations today on safety levels. After this interesting lesson of successful conservation of an endemic species, we walked to enjoy downtown and shopping for typical handcrafts; having a drink in the local cafes or inviting our favorite guides for an ice-cream. Right afterwards we crossed a dark and scary lava tube, a life lasting impression for many, who did it holding hands.
Our afternoon was a visit to the highlands of Santa Cruz, where we visited a farm full of wild tortoises. It was quite an interesting time for us, as we learned the ways of the Galápagos giant tortoise. Before going back to the ship, we stopped at a “trapiche”, where we learned about sugar cane turning into juice. A sample tasting among our guests produced a rise in our spirits. After dinner, the musicians of Eco Arte, a dancing group that came on board our ship from Puerto Ayora, added a great deal of fun with South American music and choreographies of colorful costumes. It was another day in paradise!
