Santa Cruz Island
The National Geographic Endeavour entered Academy Bay after an overnight navigation from Fernandina Island and we began to disembark as soon as we arrived. It’s always a bit surprising to go back to civilization after having been immersed in a natural and pristine world. The bay was very busy this morning and the many boats gave an overall look of a floating city.
A short bus ride on the main street took us to the entrance of the Galápagos National Park Installation. We are heading to the Giant Tortoise’s Breeding Center this morning. The restoration program for these Galápagos endangered species is a 40 year-old success story. Thousands of tortoises hatched and grew up there before being repatriated to the island they call home. This program aims to recover the population depleted by 200 years of human exploitation and introduced species depredation. If we can protect and conserve the Galápagos, there’s a hope to do it in others places, and those baby tortoises reflect in some way the challenge we are facing to sustain our own future.
The giants tortoises seem to live out of time when we observe them quietly grazing in the highland lush vegetation. Nothing seems to disturb them. They belong to this place and have been there forever. We are just passing by here and they’ll remain. Maybe they understand eternity is not a matter of a lifetime but of continuity, through generations. Their apparently thoughtless way of life bears a message. They give the Galápagos a mystic dimension that inspires many Naturalists and navigators. Some of them got that message and contribute to our understanding of Life on this planet.
