Santa Cruz Island
Our expedition this morning started with a little misty rain (locally known as garua) typical of the season – this misty rain does not last as much as it might: just a few minutes then the sun shines again!
Today we landed at Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island. This is the second largest island in the archipelago, and the economic capital of the Galápagos. This large island is home to the Galápagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station; institutions in charge of the management and conservation of the protected areas of the islands.
At the Charles Darwin Research Station you can visit the Galápagos giant tortoises in captivity. Here is the hatchery where the eggs of these giant reptiles are incubated and the hatchlings are raised until they are safe from predation. This is also the home of the emblematic Lonesome George, who is the last survivor from Pinta Island that managed to escape from the whale hunters. Today George is a world-famous symbol of conservation for the national park, and an enormous effort is underway to reproduce this single representative of a once successful species on our planet.
We had time to explore the picturesque village of Puerto Ayora before heading to the highlands for the rest of the activities such as hiking and mountain biking before lunch. In the afternoon, once having devoured a meal in a highland restaurant among the mists and the evergreen trees, we headed to a location higher in the national park to visit some dramatic crater-like formations. These are situated among the unusual vegetation typical of the region such as the daisy tree or Scalesia pedunculata forest that is one of the showcases of evolution in the Galápagos, like Darwin’s finches and giant tortoises. These unique cloud forests are also home to many unique bird species, such as the spectacular vermillion flycatcher and the woodpecker finch.
Besides the geology of the place, the flora is also very interesting in terms of evolutionary history. As you explore the area you can find flocks of Darwin’s finches, warblers and the most colourful bird of the forest: the vermillion flycatcher that appears and disappears as if by magic in an enchanted forest. We concluded our expedition by visiting the giant tortoise territory that is located on the western side of the island.
Santa Cruz is home to more that three thousand giant tortoises, thus being the island with the second largest tortoise population after Alcedo Volcano on Isabela Island.
Our expedition this morning started with a little misty rain (locally known as garua) typical of the season – this misty rain does not last as much as it might: just a few minutes then the sun shines again!
Today we landed at Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island. This is the second largest island in the archipelago, and the economic capital of the Galápagos. This large island is home to the Galápagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station; institutions in charge of the management and conservation of the protected areas of the islands.
At the Charles Darwin Research Station you can visit the Galápagos giant tortoises in captivity. Here is the hatchery where the eggs of these giant reptiles are incubated and the hatchlings are raised until they are safe from predation. This is also the home of the emblematic Lonesome George, who is the last survivor from Pinta Island that managed to escape from the whale hunters. Today George is a world-famous symbol of conservation for the national park, and an enormous effort is underway to reproduce this single representative of a once successful species on our planet.
We had time to explore the picturesque village of Puerto Ayora before heading to the highlands for the rest of the activities such as hiking and mountain biking before lunch. In the afternoon, once having devoured a meal in a highland restaurant among the mists and the evergreen trees, we headed to a location higher in the national park to visit some dramatic crater-like formations. These are situated among the unusual vegetation typical of the region such as the daisy tree or Scalesia pedunculata forest that is one of the showcases of evolution in the Galápagos, like Darwin’s finches and giant tortoises. These unique cloud forests are also home to many unique bird species, such as the spectacular vermillion flycatcher and the woodpecker finch.
Besides the geology of the place, the flora is also very interesting in terms of evolutionary history. As you explore the area you can find flocks of Darwin’s finches, warblers and the most colourful bird of the forest: the vermillion flycatcher that appears and disappears as if by magic in an enchanted forest. We concluded our expedition by visiting the giant tortoise territory that is located on the western side of the island.
Santa Cruz is home to more that three thousand giant tortoises, thus being the island with the second largest tortoise population after Alcedo Volcano on Isabela Island.
