We woke up to a nice “Merry Christmas” announcement and soon arrived at the largest town in the Galapagos, called Puerto Ayora. Right after breakfast, we headed on a dry landing to visit the breeding center of the Galapagos National Park Service. We also walked around the facilities of the Charles Darwin Foundation, and learned about the projects that are currently happening in the archipelago. 

Once in the breeding center we saw species of tortoises form different islands. One of the main goals of this center is to incubate the tortoise’s eggs in captivity and repatriate them back to their home islands once they have reached a safe age. We did see an interesting character of the breeding center and that was “Super Diego,” a giant tortoise form Espanola Island who came here from the San Diego Zoo in 1977 to help save its species from extinction driven by human predation and other introduced animals. We enjoyed seeing tortoises, from baby-sized to the largest and heaviest domed shells, and getting the feeling that with help and tons of effort, the giant tortoise dynasty can be restored.

In the afternoon we visited a small local hacienda where we learned about the processes of sugar cane juice’s transformation into sugar, alcohol, and syrup, together with some original homemade coffee production (which is still done this way at the highlands of this island). Some of us decided to bike a couple of miles to the hacienda while others walked a few miles for exercise. Along the farmlands we saw cattle egrets, coffee plants, and giant tortoises. After lunch we went to visit the giant tortoises in the wild. Many very old male tortoises were spotted, some mating on the side of the road, while others were feeding or cooling off in the rain water ponds. This was basically tortoise heaven, where the greenery keeps these giants happy and coming back every season. We also entered a double-decker lava tube, a large geological feature very common in volcanic islands like the Galapagos. What a great day!

We also saw giant daisy trees, giving shade to giant tortoises in this magical place on earth known as “The Galapagos islands.” What an amazing to spend our Christmas!