Early today we anchored in Academy Bay located in Santa Cruz Island. After breakfast we disembarked at the main dock in Puerto Ayora, the largest town in Galapagos. After a short bus drive we arrived to the entrance of the Galapagos National Park Center, and from there we enjoyed a nice stroll to the corrals, where we observed some of the Galapagos giant tortoises in captivity as well as some of the Galapagos land iguanas that are kept here. The breeding center for tortoises operates all year round, and its main mission is to breed adult tortoises from different islands and raise them to juvenile age, four years of age, when they will be released to the same island where their parents came from.
We also had a chance to explore the town of Puerto Ayora and walk around the busy streets of this town. We had a nice afternoon and did some shopping while observing the lifestyle of the locals. A very interesting part of town was the fishermen’s dock, where brown pelicans and Galapagos sea lions congregate to feed on the leftovers of the catch of the day.
At the end of the morning, we got on to local buses and went to the highlands. We visited a local farm where we learned about their methods of production for sugar cane alcohol and coffee. Later on, we went up higher to a local restaurant for lunch, and in the afternoon we devoted our time to looking for Galapagos giant tortoises in the wild. We were very fortunate and encountered several individuals, who were looking for food, shade and water in a dense forest. After this walk through the forest we drove once more to Puerto Ayora and returned aboard for a delightful evening with some local musicians and dancers from the Galapagos Islands. What a perfect way to end our day on Santa Cruz Island!
