Day 9 - 7/31 - Santa Cruz Island (Day 6 in Galapagos) GIANT TORTOISES!

Santa Cruz – So strange to be back in civilization!  We haven’t seen houses or human structures in five days.  Docked in Puerto Ayora, a town of 18,000 people, the only post office, and the Charles Darwin Research Station.  Visited their giant tortoise breeding program where Lonesome George lived out the second half of his life.  The researchers take and incubate eggs from the different species and keep them safe until they’re five and then return them to their respective islands.  Each one is marked by a number and color for identification.  Until they are about two or three they are often eaten by rats, and then from three to five, feral pigs are a problem.  By five, they are big enough to be safe but still small enough to move.  There are about seven adults here, but they are accidental hybrids from their time in captivity in the early 1900s.  They have no true homes to return to.  Fascinating place.

From the research center we walked into town along Darwin Avenue, visiting small shops for souvenirs.  We met for a drink then were shipped out to get suited up for mountain bikes.  It was a hilly three-mile ride that was through gorgeous country-side with farms and pastures growing coffee, sugar cane, bananas, papayas I think, corn, bamboo, grazing cattle, chickens in trees, pretty flowers (non-native because purples, pinks, and reds – endemic species are white or yellow), etc.  It was green and lush like we would picture on a tropical island but stood out because it was nothing we’ve seen so far.  BUT TOO MANY HILLS!  Ugh – need to save biking for flat Chicago. 

Our bike route ended at a family farm that demonstrated how they made coffee from the beans, sugar, molasses, and some serious alcohol.  Dehydrated from our sweaty bike ride, we tried shots of alcohol, juice with alcohol, and the excellent coffee they made there.  My head was swimming!

Next, lunch in the highlands at a family run open-air restaurant for grilled chicken, then on to my favorite part of the day. - walking among giant tortoises in the wild.  This time of year they are all over the place because they’ve moved up to get vegetation fed by the moisture that accumulates on the western elevations.  The lowlands are dormant because it’s the dry season.  Tracking studies show that these giants migrate long distances on many islands corresponding with the seasons.  As you can see from the pictures, these are large lumbering creatures that look like ET and are pretty unfazed by us humans.   I found them adorable and ancient. 

Another fascinating day in the Galapagos!

PS Happy Birthday Grandpa and Zoe if you’re reading.  J

Strange pond with red tiny fern plants on right, but in the shade on the left, green duckweed covering.  Boots definitely necessary!

As they dropped dried coffee beans into the big pestle, they wave the feather fan to separate the papery casing. 

Wonderland

Salad

At the research center.  

Checking us out.