Santa Cruz Island it is the second largest Island of the Galapagos and the headquarters of the Charles Darwin Research Station and the Galapagos National Park. In the morning, we visited both institutions and learned about the conservation efforts and the management actions orientated to restore species, populations and ecosystems.
In the afternoon, we visited the highlands and learned about the local production of coffee, chocolate and moonshine. Later, we went to a farm where the land tortoises roam free. We observed the adaptations that the land tortoises have developed in order to cope with different environmental conditions, and the important ecological role that these ecosystem engineers play in their environment.
