Many people associate Galapagos with giant tortoises and our day in Santa Cruz is all about these big reptiles.
We wake up early because today is a busy day; a visit to the tortoise rearing center awaits us just after breakfast. The center is located just on the shore of Academy Bay, where the biggest town of Galapagos, Puerto Ayora, is situated. We walk into a muggy and warm morning to see the tortoises from small to big, from dome-shaped to saddle-back-shaped. After understanding why it is so important to breed most of the endangered subspecies of tortoises in captivity, we walk along the waterfront of Puerto Ayora, where every building is distinct and building regulations are non-existent. This is a frontier town, this is a boomtown, this is the Wild West of Ecuador.
It is also cosmopolitan. Here you can bump into your neighbor, or a famous person as well as into an indigenous inhabitant of the Ecuadorian Andes.
After admiring the splay of impressions we head into the hills by coach, and end up at a clandestine still where moonshine is brewed and coffee is farmed. We have some fun looking at the ancient methods of farming before headed out once more for lunch.
After lunch in a lush and comfortable setting we follow a road down into tortoise territory. Some of us have a dream come true experience - walking between some of the most ancient creatures of the planet, in the wild, undisturbed in a quiet and tranquil environment. The sun beats down on us and the shade is welcomed not just by us, but also by the giant tortoises, which only emphasizes how enduring these creatures are.
Not much later we take a ride down to the bay again to have some extra time in this bustling and interesting town, or to kick back on board the National Geographic Endeavour.
A full day with many impressions keeps our minds busy into the evening, because Santa Cruz, with its two extremes of the natural past and the modern human footprint, is a place that raises many questions to anyone with an interest in nature conservation.
