Today we spent the whole day at my home island, Santa Cruz, which nowadays holds the majority of the Galapagos population. This visit gave our guests the opportunity to learn about the interaction of humans and nature, the wonderful possibility of coexisting together in a very fragile ecosystem and the important efforts that are being put into effect in order to preserve this unique place.
In the morning we visited the giant tortoises breeding center, the most successful program of the Galapagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station. It was amazing what we saw here today. The first hatchlings of the species of Floreana Island were only recently placed in their pen, and these small and vulnerable baby giant tortoises are the hope to recover this species that was already in the extinction list. Thanks to this program, the number of tortoises have increased dramatically and can be observed in many places in the wild.
In the afternoon we visited ‘el Trapiche’ (a sugar cane mill)—in this way the National Geographic Endeavour is bringing their guests close to the local community and learning directly from them. We enjoyed a great lunch at a local restaurant, located in the farming area, from here our excursion continued into the highlands, extending our search of giant tortoises in the wild. We were fortunate to encounter so many males and females that were still around the natural reserve—the sight of these giants walking gently next to you was an unforgettable experience, a dream that came true. This made for a fantastic day, full of awesome pictures and memorable moments!
