Today we are visiting my home Island, Santa Cruz. When you are visiting the Galapagos archipelago, most of the days you are out in pristine areas, but today our guests encountered civilization. Several ships were anchored at Academy Bay and we could see houses and several buildings along the coastal area from the Sky deck of the National Geographic Islander. Santa Cruz holds the largest population of the Galapagos province with approximately 20,000 residents. Puerto Ayora was very busy this morning as prominent visitors were arriving to town. President Rafael Correa arrived a day earlier, together with the Costa Rican president and today President Santos from Colombia joined them. They gathered here to sign a special treaty in order to protect and conserve the migration route of the Scallop Hammerhead shark, something that was a dream 25 years ago finally came true!
We were able to do our planed visits without any problems, although we saw the security of the presidents everywhere and many people on the streets waiting for them! This morning we visited the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center run by the Galapagos National Park Service and some the famous Charles Darwin Research Station. Through the close work of both institutions, the Galapagos Islands have been able to be sustainable and there is much more work to be done. It was overcast during the morning, excellent conditions to learn about the gentle giants of the Islands. Afterwards our guests walked through the cozy town of Puerto Ayora, buying handicrafts and taking pictures at the busy Fishermen’s market.
After a short break at the Rock Café, our gathering area, our guests went to the workshops of local artisans to see what they do with recycled paper and glass, while the other guests went to Lava Java coffee plantation to learn about sustainable agroforestry. We had lunch at Narwahl Restaurant, a delicious meal was served, and right after that we headed towards El Chato farm located right at the boundary with the Giant Tortoise Natural Reserve. It is always very important for our guests to have enough time to observe the emblematic animals of the Galapagos, the giant tortoises in their natural habitat. Here the tortoises are looking for fresh grass and we could observe the different ages of the animals because as they get older they increase in size and weight, reaching upwards of 400 to 500 pounds. It was a great opportunity to choose your favourite tortoise and take a picture just standing or sitting next to them while observing how they feed and how they move. The close proximity to the animals and their behaviour towards us will remain in your minds and hearts forever.
We were back on board and after dinner our guests were delighted with a live show. Local musicians were invited to join us and we all enjoyed the great Andean and Galapagos music. Dancers were performing traditional folklore as well as the typical attire of different regions.
A great day came to an end, many more memorable experiences were added to this great expedition, and we still have another full day ahead of us in this magical place.
