Last night we anchored in Academy Bay on the south end of Santa Cruz Island. This morning we headed ashore and disembarked onto the public dock. A Galapagos sea lion was resting on a bench and although people were around it, this sea lion did not pay any attention and kept sleeping.
After a short bus ride to “Fausto Llerena Giant tortoises Breeding Center”, we started to look at some of the tortoises that are bred in captivity. Along the path, we saw juveniles and adults from different islands in to their corrals; in a special building, we also had the chance to see the embalmed body of Lonesome George that was the last tortoise from Pinta Island population.
This morning and right after walking through the breeding center our guests had the chance to explore the town of Puerto Ayora; along the main street, there was the chance to spend some time looking at the small but colorful fish market as well as some of the local shops.
We left the town of Puerto Ayora and got on to local buses to go to the highlands; there we got to a local farm that produces coffee, molasses, and local aguardiente (typical alcohol), after that stop, we continued driving to a local restaurant where we had lunch. During the afternoon, we looked for Galapagos giant tortoises in the wild, and had a great time exploring a lava tunnel found in the same area.
Towards the end of the afternoon, we all returned aboard and right after dinner we enjoyed a great show with local musicians and dancers to end this day
