We anchored in the bay of Puerto Ayora, where about 20,000 people live. This is the economic capital of the province due to its location in the middle of the island group.
Getting off the Zodiacs, we walked into the national park area for our visit to the giant tortoise breeding and rearing program facilities. This program has been operating for four decades, with a mission to bring some tortoise species and also land iguana populations back from near extinction. These days we see some of these recovered species in and around Galapagos, back in the wild.
We continued our expedition to see more giant tortoises, especially the one from the island of Espanola. After years of predation by pirates and whalers the ones here also were near to extinction at one point, with only fifteen individuals left alive. One male housed here now lived in California first. His name was Diego, named after the San Diego Zoo where he spent many years. Now the population is substantially increasing into the thousands, due to him. It has become one of the most successful breeding projects that have been carried out here.
Finally we met the future generations of tortoises. They fit easily into the palm of your hand when born, and then after five years of growing are sent back out into their natural habitats.
Now we have time for shopping! This very unique picturesque town has wonderful people, like nature itself. From there we boarded a bus that took us to a local sugar cane press where we were able to try products made out of their cultivation. The juice is very good and revitalizing. We were also able to try local coffee, as well as chocolate-covered coffee beans, and purchase some of them.
Finally we went to a restaurant in the highlands for lunch. After this break we boarded the buses again, this time to go look for giant tortoises in the wild. This is a exciting part of the expedition because at this time of the year they can be seen in the area eating grasses that are quite abundant, due to the regular mist at this elevation.
The vegetation is also impressive as this area is cultivated by local farmers. Large trees paint the scene.
We then returned to town after this fantastic excursion for a little more time to explore before heading back on board. Another adventure has concluded successfully!
