Today we encountered civilization as we explored the inhabited island of Santa Cruz. This is my home and here we observed the emblematic animal of the archipelago, the Galapagos giant tortoise. At the Charles Darwin Station we learned about the conservation efforts for the tortoises and later we visited a farm owned by locals, where our guests enjoyed trying their products. It was a good way to understand how the first settlers established here. The afternoon was spent observing the tortoises in their natural habitat. It was just amazing to watch the gentle giants wandering around and being so close to them was unbelievable! What a memorable day!