Santa Cruz Island is located in the central realm of Galapagos and harbors the largest town in the archipelago, which is where we find the main headquarters of the Charles Darwin Research Station and the Fausto Llerena Breeding Center for giant tortoises.
This morning after breakfast we headed ashore and walked through the area where Galapagos giant tortoises are kept in captivity, as part of the breeding project to save these animals from extinction. Along the way we also observed Darwin’s finches of different species as well as Galapagos mockingbirds and the giant prickly pear cactus, which was approximately 18 feet tall. After our visit to the Breeding Center, we headed to town where we had the opportunity to buy some local handcrafts and to see the fishermen’s market, where sea lions and pelicans wait patiently for scraps of fish.
Towards the end of the morning, we took local buses to go to the highlands to a local farm, while some of our guests went on a bike trip and others visited a local school. After these excursions, we went to have lunch at a local restaurant in a beautiful location up in the highlands—everybody was amazed by the bright pink color of the flowers from the Norwegian pear trees.
This afternoon and right after lunch, we went to look for Galapagos giant tortoises in the wild, at a protected area near the restaurant where they are known to roam freely. We were very fortunate, and we found several of these animals feeding on grasses, while others were spotted sleeping under the bushes. It was incredible to see these giants up close, in their natural habitat, and we admired by the green, lush environment around us, as we walked through a forest full of mosses and lichens.
At the end of the afternoon we returned to the National Geographic Endeavour, and to end our day on Santa Cruz Island, we had local musicians and dancers to entertain everyone after dinner.
