Today the National Geographic Islander arrived into Academic Bay which is on the south side of Santa Cruz Island. Norwegians that attempted to begin a fish-canning factory in Floreana Island back in 1926 colonized Puerto Ayora town. This is the largest town with approximately 22,000 people that are dedicated to work in ecotourism and sustainable fisheries and agriculture.
This morning we headed to the Fausto Llerena giant tortoises breading center located in the headquarters of the Galapagos National Park. Learning about conservation programs, such as restoring the dynasty of the giant tortoises on the islands, was our main goal. We explored the different rustic corrals that house species of tortoises from Santa Cruz, Santiago, Española, and Pinzon islands. The objective of the Galapagos National Park through the breading program is to bread these species in captivity and later to repatriate them to zones that have been affected by humans and alien species.
Since the passing of Lonesome George, Super Diego has became the iconic tortoise who has helped the Galapagos National Park repatriate more than 2000 babies tortoises into the wilderness of Española Island. This individual has helped us to restore the population of tortoises in this island since 1976 when only 14 adult tortoises were found on the island of Española.
Later in the morning we walked back to town and passed by the fishing market where the artisanal fishermen displayed their catch of the day. Other guests that were hanging around were the graceful sea lions, pelicans, herons and frigate birds that where begging for free fish. Later in the morning, heading by bus to the highlands, we enjoyed the different vegetation zones. We also did a quick stop at a private farm to learn about the processing of sugarcane and coffee.
After lunch we took a walk into a lava tube that was formed 1.5 million years ago when the volcano in Santa Cruz Island was very active. We also, found gigantic tortoises in the reserve area of the National Park that made their way to the private farms. Walking through the humid zone with dense vegetation was unexpected since most of the day we were exploring the coastal zone. Finding the giant tortoises in their natural habitat and been surrounding by birds was a great way to finish our adventure on Santa Cruz Island.
