Today we spent – in civilization! Puerto Ayora is home for 20,000 Galapageans, is the largest town in the archipelago and is the home base for both the National Park and the Charles Darwin Research Station. We visited the Darwin Station and the tortoise breeding center that is run by the National Park. We saw the famous Lonesome George (embalmed!) who was the last pure Pinta Island tortoise and who died several years ago of old age without reproducing. We visited the highlands, explored a lava tunnel, and learned about coffee and sugar cane production. We had a bountiful lunch and spent an hour walking among wild tortoises, which- like all the rest of the wildlife here in Galapagos – ignored us and went about their slow, deliberate lives while we took photos of them from all angles and heights.
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