It was time to leave our uninhabited world behind and follow the trail of human development. We soon arrived at the largest town in the Enchanted Islands, Puerto Ayora, located on Santa Cruz. It was time to visit the giant tortoise breeding center of the Galapagos National Park Service.
After a dry landing we entered the park service facilities and saw our first giant tortoises in captivity. These giant reptiles were more than 100 years old and their massive shells stood out form the bushes like slow moving boulders. It was sunny, so many of these animals were seeking shade under the few shrubs within the corrals.
At a different corral, a male giant tortoise that was brought back to the islands from the San Diego Zoo is now the big star among the many conservation projects. The Espanola giant tortoise species was on the brink of extinction, but Diego (with the help of 12 females and two other males) helped produce 1,800 offspring that have been successfully repatriated to Espanola. “Super Diego” was quite a character to meet and his name is well-deserved.
As we headed to the highlands of Santa Cruz we visited a sugarcane press, where we learned about products made from sugarcane juice, including strong “white lightning” alcohol. I think this visit was a nice taste of the local flavor.
After lunch we got to see many giant tortoises in the wild. Huge male giant tortoises were found grazing along the greenery of the humid zone at the highlands of Santa Cruz. Pintail ducks were enjoying the murky water of the rain water ponds. It was a completely different ecosystem and landscape once we got up to the highlands. All the sudden we left the dry-looking arid zone and entered a new world of lush greenery everywhere. At the end we hiked into a lava tube and learned more about the geological structure of places like this. Many interesting features inside made us feel amazed. As we explored the Galapagos underground, water drops fell from the roof creating an interesting air-conditioned effect with fresh cool air inside.
