Santa Cruz Island
It was a very nice day on this island; we have just done so much. We started our day with a very important visit to the Charles Darwin Research Center where many efforts are done to restore the populations of Galápagos giant tortoises and the Galápagos land iguanas.
Thanks to the joint efforts of the Galápagos National Park Service, the Charles Darwin Foundation and many international organizations the local populations of unique species of animals and plants are restored, and there is a lot that needs to be done to preserve, rescue and study this unique place.
We also walked inside one of the corrals where 6 males Galápagos giant tortoises live here for several years together, as they were pets in houses of people for a long time and returned to the National Park Service, in the picture we find them having a very nutritious breakfast.
After enjoying our time at the Darwin Center we went to the town of Puerto Ayora for shopping along the main avenue, as this was a nice sunny morning some got some drinks, ice creams, and lots of souvenirs supporting the local economy in that way.
Around noon we took the buses to Altair Restaurant up in the highlands and some had the opportunity to ride bikes while others walked to the restaurant and got a well deserved delicious lunch.
We had some garua (mist) that made our afternoon very refreshing as we walked around the forest of Scalesias at the “Gemelos” (Pit craters). The view was spectacular and we encountered many Darwin’s finches.
Our afternoon wouldn’t have been complete without visiting the Galápagos giant tortoises in their natural environment at “Butterfly Ranch” – a wonderful place they use as part of their migratory route to areas where the grass will be more abundant.
We returned aboard and some local dancers and musicians joined us to delight us with some typical music of the Andes and Galápagos as well.
We had a very exciting day – it was worth every minute of it!
It was a very nice day on this island; we have just done so much. We started our day with a very important visit to the Charles Darwin Research Center where many efforts are done to restore the populations of Galápagos giant tortoises and the Galápagos land iguanas.
Thanks to the joint efforts of the Galápagos National Park Service, the Charles Darwin Foundation and many international organizations the local populations of unique species of animals and plants are restored, and there is a lot that needs to be done to preserve, rescue and study this unique place.
We also walked inside one of the corrals where 6 males Galápagos giant tortoises live here for several years together, as they were pets in houses of people for a long time and returned to the National Park Service, in the picture we find them having a very nutritious breakfast.
After enjoying our time at the Darwin Center we went to the town of Puerto Ayora for shopping along the main avenue, as this was a nice sunny morning some got some drinks, ice creams, and lots of souvenirs supporting the local economy in that way.
Around noon we took the buses to Altair Restaurant up in the highlands and some had the opportunity to ride bikes while others walked to the restaurant and got a well deserved delicious lunch.
We had some garua (mist) that made our afternoon very refreshing as we walked around the forest of Scalesias at the “Gemelos” (Pit craters). The view was spectacular and we encountered many Darwin’s finches.
Our afternoon wouldn’t have been complete without visiting the Galápagos giant tortoises in their natural environment at “Butterfly Ranch” – a wonderful place they use as part of their migratory route to areas where the grass will be more abundant.
We returned aboard and some local dancers and musicians joined us to delight us with some typical music of the Andes and Galápagos as well.
We had a very exciting day – it was worth every minute of it!
