Santa Cruz Island
The Galápagos archipelago became a National Park in 1959 and in that year the Charles Darwin Research Station started their operations as well. We headed this morning to the headquarters of the Darwin Center where conservation programs are run in situ. One of the most important programs here is the repatriation of the giant tortoises to the different islands so we learned a lot about land tortoises, land iguanas and their reproductive cycle. For many one of the celebrities to see today was famous Lonesome George and his two females; the eggs recently laid by the females in his corral are still in the incubators and in just a few weeks we will finally know if these eggs will hatch or not.
The amount of vegetation found on the south side of Santa Cruz Island goes accordingly to its elevation; the highest humid zone has several species of trees and plants of all kinds and this attracts finches, warblers, mockingbirds, doves and of course Galápagos giant tortoises. We looked for them during the afternoon and the more we tried to count, the more we found, perhaps some saw twelve or thirty or more, all feeding on the abundant vegetation here.
We also got to see a couple of geological formations better known as Los Gemelos which are surrounded by large trees, ferns, grasses, and bushes, most of these plants are endemic to Galápagos. One of the most impressive plants we encountered here is the Galápagos giant daisy which can measure more than thirty feet in height.
After exploring the beauty of Santa Cruz Island we got back to Puerto Ayora, a little town full of life and great surprises.
The Galápagos archipelago became a National Park in 1959 and in that year the Charles Darwin Research Station started their operations as well. We headed this morning to the headquarters of the Darwin Center where conservation programs are run in situ. One of the most important programs here is the repatriation of the giant tortoises to the different islands so we learned a lot about land tortoises, land iguanas and their reproductive cycle. For many one of the celebrities to see today was famous Lonesome George and his two females; the eggs recently laid by the females in his corral are still in the incubators and in just a few weeks we will finally know if these eggs will hatch or not.
The amount of vegetation found on the south side of Santa Cruz Island goes accordingly to its elevation; the highest humid zone has several species of trees and plants of all kinds and this attracts finches, warblers, mockingbirds, doves and of course Galápagos giant tortoises. We looked for them during the afternoon and the more we tried to count, the more we found, perhaps some saw twelve or thirty or more, all feeding on the abundant vegetation here.
We also got to see a couple of geological formations better known as Los Gemelos which are surrounded by large trees, ferns, grasses, and bushes, most of these plants are endemic to Galápagos. One of the most impressive plants we encountered here is the Galápagos giant daisy which can measure more than thirty feet in height.
After exploring the beauty of Santa Cruz Island we got back to Puerto Ayora, a little town full of life and great surprises.
