We arrived to the largest town in the Galapagos, called Puerto Ayora. Once anchored in port, after breakfast, we headed on a dry landing to visit the breeding center of the Galapagos National Park Service, where many of the endemic giant tortoises can be seen.
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 from 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, “Super Diego,” a giant tortoise form Espanola Island who came from San Diego Zoo in 1977. His role was to help save his species from extinction driven by human predation and other introduced animals on the island of Espanola. We enjoyed seeing tortoises of all sizes, from babies to the largest and heaviest dome shells. We got the feeling that with help, and tons of effort, the giant tortoise dynasty can be restored, so that in the future these giants will once again live in large numbers around the archipelago.
In the afternoon we visited a small, local hacienda where we learned about the processes of sugar cane juice transformation into sugar, alcohol and syrup, together with the original homemade coffee production (still done this way at the highlands of this island). Some of us decided to bike a couple of miles to this place 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 an amazing day we had today!
