Santa Cruz Island
Today was a tortoise day! Only two islands groups in the world are inhabited by giant tortoises; Aldabra Island in the Seychelles, and the Galápagos Islands. Santa Cruz, which is my home island here in the Galápagos, has a large and healthy population of these gigantic creatures. Here you also find the headquarters of the Galápagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Research Station, who are partners in conservation and work to restore and protect the islands’ flora and fauna. Indeed we are extremely proud of what these two organizations have done for the preservation of this unique archipelago. This morning we visited the captive breeding center where giant tortoises are raised to be repatriated to the islands of their origin. Our guests were delighted to see these fascinating reptiles of all ages and sizes.
The afternoon found us in the highlands where we enjoyed an abundant and delightful lunch with a spectacular view and then explored a lava tunnel. Boarding the buses again, we drove down toward the tortoise reserve where we encountered many tortoises in their natural habitat. Some were feeding on the lush grasses, others were taking a siesta, and a couple more were soaking in a small pond to cool down and have a drink of the muddy water found there. The surprise, however, was given by a couple of tortoises mating.
The tortoises were not the only attraction of the afternoon, as we also found many different species of birds, such as white cheeked pintail ducks, dark billed cuckoo, and the hard-to-find woodpecker finch, using his tool (generally a cactus spine or a twig) to dig a beetle larvae out of rotten wood.
Once back down to town, we had a final chance to stroll through for some shopping at the many charming small stores. We then boarded our Zodiacs and came back to our “home away from home,” the National Geographic Islander.
It has been an enjoyable and successful day on Santa Cruz Island, and we are looking forward to new adventures tomorrow.
Today was a tortoise day! Only two islands groups in the world are inhabited by giant tortoises; Aldabra Island in the Seychelles, and the Galápagos Islands. Santa Cruz, which is my home island here in the Galápagos, has a large and healthy population of these gigantic creatures. Here you also find the headquarters of the Galápagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Research Station, who are partners in conservation and work to restore and protect the islands’ flora and fauna. Indeed we are extremely proud of what these two organizations have done for the preservation of this unique archipelago. This morning we visited the captive breeding center where giant tortoises are raised to be repatriated to the islands of their origin. Our guests were delighted to see these fascinating reptiles of all ages and sizes.
The afternoon found us in the highlands where we enjoyed an abundant and delightful lunch with a spectacular view and then explored a lava tunnel. Boarding the buses again, we drove down toward the tortoise reserve where we encountered many tortoises in their natural habitat. Some were feeding on the lush grasses, others were taking a siesta, and a couple more were soaking in a small pond to cool down and have a drink of the muddy water found there. The surprise, however, was given by a couple of tortoises mating.
The tortoises were not the only attraction of the afternoon, as we also found many different species of birds, such as white cheeked pintail ducks, dark billed cuckoo, and the hard-to-find woodpecker finch, using his tool (generally a cactus spine or a twig) to dig a beetle larvae out of rotten wood.
Once back down to town, we had a final chance to stroll through for some shopping at the many charming small stores. We then boarded our Zodiacs and came back to our “home away from home,” the National Geographic Islander.
It has been an enjoyable and successful day on Santa Cruz Island, and we are looking forward to new adventures tomorrow.
