Santa Cruz Island
Today we woke up facing Puerto Ayora, the most populated island in the Galápagos. Some fifteen thousand souls dedicate their lives to agriculture, fishing and tourism, of course.
Our morning was oriented to the visit of the famous Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) where we saw several tortoises from different races. This is also the place where at least two hundred scientists from different parts of the world are working hard to restore the low populations of this giant tortoises. The original population of these reptiles was estimated in well over two hundred thousand individuals and some even think that might have been at least a million of them, but of course that was centuries ago. When the first explorers came to the Galápagos, some said that there was not space left to set up a tent due the amount of tortoises; unfortunately, the remaining population after several centuries of hunting is around thirty thousand tortoises. The fact that they can spend more than a year without eating or even drinking water, was the main factor that encouraged sailors to take them as food for their long journeys at sea. The idea to restore their populations and assist in collecting eggs from their natural nesting grounds; the hunting has been forbidden, but unfortunately the young are still threatened by introduced animals. All the collected eggs will finish their incubation at the Darwin Station, and the little tortoises will be returned to their home islands once they are four or five years old.
After our visit at the CDRS, we spent time in town to get to know how people live in an isolated area like this, and to help the local economy when shopping for some t-shirts. We then continued to the highlands to have a nice lunch and to explore the high elevation grounds of the island where giant tortoises are found in the wild.
After a successful hunt (just kidding) we came back to town for a bit more of the “Galápagueño life” and then on board for a nice evening among local musicians and a beautiful display of cultural dancing performed by a local group of Galápagueños!
Today we woke up facing Puerto Ayora, the most populated island in the Galápagos. Some fifteen thousand souls dedicate their lives to agriculture, fishing and tourism, of course.
Our morning was oriented to the visit of the famous Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) where we saw several tortoises from different races. This is also the place where at least two hundred scientists from different parts of the world are working hard to restore the low populations of this giant tortoises. The original population of these reptiles was estimated in well over two hundred thousand individuals and some even think that might have been at least a million of them, but of course that was centuries ago. When the first explorers came to the Galápagos, some said that there was not space left to set up a tent due the amount of tortoises; unfortunately, the remaining population after several centuries of hunting is around thirty thousand tortoises. The fact that they can spend more than a year without eating or even drinking water, was the main factor that encouraged sailors to take them as food for their long journeys at sea. The idea to restore their populations and assist in collecting eggs from their natural nesting grounds; the hunting has been forbidden, but unfortunately the young are still threatened by introduced animals. All the collected eggs will finish their incubation at the Darwin Station, and the little tortoises will be returned to their home islands once they are four or five years old.
After our visit at the CDRS, we spent time in town to get to know how people live in an isolated area like this, and to help the local economy when shopping for some t-shirts. We then continued to the highlands to have a nice lunch and to explore the high elevation grounds of the island where giant tortoises are found in the wild.
After a successful hunt (just kidding) we came back to town for a bit more of the “Galápagueño life” and then on board for a nice evening among local musicians and a beautiful display of cultural dancing performed by a local group of Galápagueños!
