Christmas is getting closer, and the feelings of love and friendship are greater as time passes by. We walked through Puerto Ayora enjoying the happy faces, the little celebrations in town, all in preparation for the holidays. At the Tomas de Berlanga School each of the grades had organized a sketch, and at the town plaza there was an artisanal market of the many handicrafts made in the Galapagos. Tortoises, of course, were a big highlight of the day. We counted one hundred in the wild, walking freely through the fields of Manzanillo, an area which happens to be in the migratory route of these gigantic creatures. And at the Galapagos National Park breeding center we saw the babies from different islands and learned about successful repatriation programs. So it’s all been about good news and optimism; happy people and happy tortoises. And to fulfill our day, once on board, we had musicians from town—beautiful dancers dressed in hand-painted costumes—and laughter and talking. And why not? Even our bartender had the opportunity to learn from one of our guests how to prepare a new drink, the Rainbow, to crown a day of colors and delight.
Happy holidays to everybody from the National Geographic Endeavour!
