This morning we had a hearty breakfast and then boarded the Zodiacs for a cruise into the harbor of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, the capital of the Galapagos Islands. This town has between 8,000 and 10,000 inhabitants. During our Zodiac ride, we saw blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies and sea lions. This unique town has an immense population of Galapagos sea lions, and these beautiful animals are an important part of San Cristobal lifestyle.
We spent the morning in the highlands of the San Cristobal Giant Tortoise Rearing Center. This species of giant tortoises was almost extinct during the whaling era in Galapagos. Due to that, the Galapagos National Park is now raising them in semi-natural enclosures and then releasing them back into the wild.
We had close encounters with adult females, males and even baby (one-year-old!) San Cristobal giant tortoises. After a splendid, traditional Ecuadorian buffet lunch onboard, and our well-deserved siesta, we headed by Zodiac to the main town dock.
In the afternoon, we visited the Charles Darwin statue and climbed to the top of Frigatebird Hill (also known as Tijeretas Hill) for a fantastic view of the sunset in Port Baquerizo Moreno.
