Santa Cruz Island
Today was dedicated to Giant Tortoises – living symbols of the Galápagos. In fact, the islands’ name itself is derived from a Spanish word for saddle – a reference to the distinctive saddle-shaped domes of some tortoises.
We landed this morning in Puerto Ayora, the largest town in the Galápagos and the islands’ main business center, where our first stop was the Charles Darwin Research Station – center for scientific study in the Galápagos, and site of the giant tortoise breeding and re-introduction program. Here we were able to see tortoises from several of the islands, including Lonesome George, the last living tortoise from Pinta, where introduced goats ravaged the vegetation that these great reptiles depend on. An effort is now being made to breed George with tortoises from other islands to try and preserve his unique genetic heritage – and perhaps one day return his descendants to Pinta once more.
Afterwards, we traveled inland, up into the cool, moist highlands, a lush green landscape very different from anything we have seen before on this voyage. Here we dined on a lovely (and enormous) lunch in the open-air at the Altair restaurant, surrounded by flowering trees.
In the afternoon, we drove even higher into the hills, now bathed in highland mist , or garua. Some of us went to see the “pit craters” giant sink holes filled with the unique Scalesia forest, while others went immediately in search of Giant Tortoises in the wild. These magnificent animals migrate up into the highlands this time of year to feast on the lush grasses and to luxuriate in seasonal pools.
A short drive led us into a highland farm whose open pastures were dotted with tortoises happily munching away like so many reptilian cows, living within an enormous salad.
One group of us, however, was blocked at the farm’s entrance by a tortoise that had taken up residence in the middle of the road. Easily solved: six of us simply picked it up and moved it to the shoulder. Impossible to know, but being lifted off the ground must have been a novel experience for a 400 pound animal.
One of the highlights of the afternoon was the sight of a duckweed-covered pond, filled with more than half a dozen tortoises in what could only be described as a state of aquatic bliss. Some were completely immersed, with only their high domed shells rising above the water, only occasionally poking their heads out for a breath of air. Elsewhere a pair of tortoises quietly mated in the tall grass.
In the late afternoon, the garua grew heavy and the sky dark, and we left the tortoises to their mountain retreat, and returned to Polaris – a fantastic day, among one of the world’s most extraordinary animals.
Today was dedicated to Giant Tortoises – living symbols of the Galápagos. In fact, the islands’ name itself is derived from a Spanish word for saddle – a reference to the distinctive saddle-shaped domes of some tortoises.
We landed this morning in Puerto Ayora, the largest town in the Galápagos and the islands’ main business center, where our first stop was the Charles Darwin Research Station – center for scientific study in the Galápagos, and site of the giant tortoise breeding and re-introduction program. Here we were able to see tortoises from several of the islands, including Lonesome George, the last living tortoise from Pinta, where introduced goats ravaged the vegetation that these great reptiles depend on. An effort is now being made to breed George with tortoises from other islands to try and preserve his unique genetic heritage – and perhaps one day return his descendants to Pinta once more.
Afterwards, we traveled inland, up into the cool, moist highlands, a lush green landscape very different from anything we have seen before on this voyage. Here we dined on a lovely (and enormous) lunch in the open-air at the Altair restaurant, surrounded by flowering trees.
In the afternoon, we drove even higher into the hills, now bathed in highland mist , or garua. Some of us went to see the “pit craters” giant sink holes filled with the unique Scalesia forest, while others went immediately in search of Giant Tortoises in the wild. These magnificent animals migrate up into the highlands this time of year to feast on the lush grasses and to luxuriate in seasonal pools.
A short drive led us into a highland farm whose open pastures were dotted with tortoises happily munching away like so many reptilian cows, living within an enormous salad.
One group of us, however, was blocked at the farm’s entrance by a tortoise that had taken up residence in the middle of the road. Easily solved: six of us simply picked it up and moved it to the shoulder. Impossible to know, but being lifted off the ground must have been a novel experience for a 400 pound animal.
One of the highlights of the afternoon was the sight of a duckweed-covered pond, filled with more than half a dozen tortoises in what could only be described as a state of aquatic bliss. Some were completely immersed, with only their high domed shells rising above the water, only occasionally poking their heads out for a breath of air. Elsewhere a pair of tortoises quietly mated in the tall grass.
In the late afternoon, the garua grew heavy and the sky dark, and we left the tortoises to their mountain retreat, and returned to Polaris – a fantastic day, among one of the world’s most extraordinary animals.
