Santa Cruz | Galapagos

Day 4: Tortoises & people

This day marked a return to "civilization" as we spent the day on Santa Cruz, the second largest island in the chain and the one with the largest human population.

We docked at the Galapagos National Park Service headquarters and drove to the Charles Darwin Research Station - the center for one of the most renowned ecological restoration programs in the world - the giant tortoise breeding program.

Santa Cruz (Indefatigable)

Not usually up at dawn - glad I got out of bed for this one!

A group of children on a school outing.

For years, Lonesome George was the most renowned figure in the Galapagos. He was the last of the Pinta tortoises. His death in 2012 represented the extinction of his species. In a last ditch effort to preserve his line, they brought in two females of a different species - he wasn't interested!

No surprise that Nat Geo booked us to arrive at the Darwin Research Station at feeding time. We got to see these great magnificent creatures up close as they chowed down! If you look closely you can see the teeth in the bottom jaw and its tongue. The teeth look small and dainty, but after watching them tear into the leaves, I wouldn't want my finger to be in their way!

Endemic species:

Galapagos land iguana (Conolophus subcristatus)

Indefatigable lava lizard

(Microlophus indefatigabilis)

Just before leaving for town, Juan Carlos showed us one of the leaves that had been harvested to feed the tortoises. He described, as a child, when it was raining, they would grab one of these leaves and use it as an umbrella.

After a good tour and plenty of time for photos at the Darwin Research Station, Nat Geo let us loose to explore the town. We walked the mile back and dispersed into the craft shops, galleries and cantinas of Puerto Ayora.

The galleries in town were way above my price point but the art was colorful, full of life - like the islands. Must say - I would have loved to have one of these lobsters for dinner. However, since they aren't sustainably fished, Nat Geo wasn't serving them - conservation first!

OK - when I first saw this on the sidewalk, I thought it was a child's toy - perhaps made of rubber - meant to freak out the tourists. Imagine my surprise when, on a closer look, I discovered it was real! Dead - but real! I have an unreasonable fear (unreasonable - yes - neverthelesss....) of grasshoppers. So glad I didn't meet this fellow in his better days.

Endemic species: Large painted locust (Schistocerca melanocera)

Endemic species: Galapagos mockingbird (Mimus parvulus)

The group met up at a local spot in town for the bus ride up into the green hill country of Santa Cruz and a visit to a coffee and sugar cane producing plantation called "El Trapiche".

They demonstrated the way the sugar cane was processed in the "old days" - but what did they make with the sugar cane today I wondered?

AND THE RESULT....

Hm - I think - that contraption looks an awful lot like a still! Wait a minute! It is a still! Complete with copper coils. Our naturalist and photo expert Walter explains the process.

I don't have any shots of the coffee - but I bought some to bring home and it was delicious. If I'd known it was that good, I would have bought more. El cafe ecuador es delicioso!

These land tortoises migrate across the farmlands and National Park areas. The walk to their habitat was green and muddy! Wellies for everyone!