Charles Darwin Research Station & Santa Cruz Highlands
Today was a great day in the Galápagos Islands. Our activities began early in the morning with a delicious breakfast aboard the National Geographic Islander, and the first adventure of the day was a hike to the Charles Darwin Research Station. We started our visit inside the males’ corral where we found these magnificent giant tortoises walking all over the place. We continued to look in to the Española giant tortoise corral where famous Diego was posing for a perfect picture moment. During our visit to the saddleback giant tortoises we were surprised by one of the females that was trying to bite our shoes; it was remarkable! The highlight of the morning was definitely our very old friend Lonesome George. He was lying down inside the water pool as brilliant as always. Finally, we saw the hatchlings, so cute and fragile inside the enclosures. We finished our morning with an exploration of Puerto Ayora, and shopping in the endemic stores was definitely a highlight.
As soon as our afternoon activities started, we took a bus ride all the way up to the highlands. As we arrived to El Chato ranch, we went through this spectacular lava tube that showed us the way Galápagos looks underground. The rocks inside look like melted chocolate as if they were bent yesterday.
A well-deserved lunch was waiting for us just at the end of this great adventure. Once we were done eating, it was time to go see what we were waiting for and so excited to see – the giant tortoises in their natural conditions. We saw few of them because it became a rainy afternoon, but they are the most emblematic species of animal in Galápagos; such great reptiles to be seen.
This perfect day wouldn’t be complete without our visit to Los Gemelos. As we arrived to the first pit hole, we felt as if we were about to fall inside it. The wildlife around was spectacular: finches of many different sizes flying around, birds singing everywhere, and plants of many different kinds around us. Our journey ended with a comfortable bus ride back to port.
This was a great day to have an adventure in the charming paradise of the Galápagos Islands.
