We were welcomed to Santa Cruz with clear skies and sunshine. All of our guests were very excited to see the unique wildlife of this island, and also to see a town for the very first time during this expedition. It is a little hard to believe that people really live in the Galapagos, so today we showed our guests the two different sides of the enchanted archipelago.
The Charles Darwin Station, home of several hundred giant tortoises, was our morning’s visiting site. Walking through the rearing center, we could see little hatchlings, which eventually will be repatriated to their Islands of origin. Our guests learned a lot about these conservation efforts, and all the local projects aiming to restore the populations of giant tortoises in the Galápagos. Along with the hatchlings, full sized adult tortoises and land iguanas were seen at the center.
Our morning continued with a bus ride up into the highlands of Santa Cruz—very different from the places we have seen so far in the Galápagos. Perhaps what first caught everyone’s attention was the lush vegetation and tall trees, similar to a cloud forest. We were set to enjoy lunch at a local restaurant, but first we stopped at “El Trapiche”, a sugar cane mill owned by local people. They were very friendly and showed us around, allowing us to see the processing of the different products prepared out of sugar cane juice, such as panela and moon shine.
After a wonderful lunch, with a nice breeze and a sea view, all of our guests went out into the highlands of Santa Cruz, looking for giant tortoises. It was a successful outing, many of these incredible giants were seen.
Our day was very exceptional, and it was hard to tear ourselves away from this paradise and head back to the ship. But more discoveries await us tomorrow in the enchanted islands!
