It is almost the end of our expedition in the enchanted islands. After exploring remote areas full of unique flora and fauna in the national park, today we visited Santa Cruz; the second largest island yet the most populated. It was surprising for some guests to know some of the islands here are inhabited, so this became one of the highlights of the day, as well as the visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station.
Disembarkation took place at the official national park’s dock. After a short walk we arrived at the tortoise rearing center, where there were over a hundred babies from many ages, some almost ready to be repatriated. This is perhaps one of the most successful conservation programs in the world - during the last four decades nearly five thousand tortoises have been repatriated to different islands, assuring their existence and the restoration of the ecosystem in the archipelago. All guests were very happy to see the iconic animal of the Galapagos Islands, the giant tortoise.
In the afternoon, before going for lunch, “el trapiche” became our first stop. This is a sugar cane mill where local people showed us a lot of products made out of the sugar cane juice. Later in day, the highlands of Santa Cruz, at approximately one thousand feet of altitude, was our visiting site. Many huge tortoises were found roaming around an open area full of lush vegetation, and every person got the chance to enjoy the tortoises, taking close-up pictures of them in their natural habitat
