Santa Cruz Island
Santa Cruz Island has one of the largest human populations in the whole Galápagos Islands. It goes up to ten thousand people living permanently in this charming, not so little anymore, town. The name of the town is Puerto Ayora and, as most little charming towns around the world, it is full of history, events and folklore.
It was once upon a time when almost everyone knew everybody. Mail was delivered at the main Plaza once a month, when as a mode of a festival, people congregated while their names were shouted out loud to pick up their letters.
This town is nowadays the head quarters for the Galápagos National Park Service (GNPS) and the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS). I was once told that, when the CDRS was recently founded and not very well known, it received mail usually addressed to Charles Darwin. When Charles Darwin’s name was shouted out loud for mail, people often question why a dead guy was still receiving so much mail!
Of course the CDRS is no longer an unknown institution, in fact, it is probably one of the most famous places in the world. Today our visit to their facilities, gave us the opportunity to find out more about the conservation issues that the islands are facing. Our guests also had the chance to learn the history behind the programs for conservation, such as the famous Lonesome George and the very popular among all “Super Diego” giant tortoises.
After a full afternoon visiting the giant tortoises in the wild, we returned back on board with our minds and our hearts open to the idea that there are places in the world that are worth saving, and definitely Galápagos is one of them!
Santa Cruz Island has one of the largest human populations in the whole Galápagos Islands. It goes up to ten thousand people living permanently in this charming, not so little anymore, town. The name of the town is Puerto Ayora and, as most little charming towns around the world, it is full of history, events and folklore.
It was once upon a time when almost everyone knew everybody. Mail was delivered at the main Plaza once a month, when as a mode of a festival, people congregated while their names were shouted out loud to pick up their letters.
This town is nowadays the head quarters for the Galápagos National Park Service (GNPS) and the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS). I was once told that, when the CDRS was recently founded and not very well known, it received mail usually addressed to Charles Darwin. When Charles Darwin’s name was shouted out loud for mail, people often question why a dead guy was still receiving so much mail!
Of course the CDRS is no longer an unknown institution, in fact, it is probably one of the most famous places in the world. Today our visit to their facilities, gave us the opportunity to find out more about the conservation issues that the islands are facing. Our guests also had the chance to learn the history behind the programs for conservation, such as the famous Lonesome George and the very popular among all “Super Diego” giant tortoises.
After a full afternoon visiting the giant tortoises in the wild, we returned back on board with our minds and our hearts open to the idea that there are places in the world that are worth saving, and definitely Galápagos is one of them!
