Today, early in the morning we found our ship anchored at Academy Bay, Santa Cruz Island. For many of our guests it was a surprise to see such a busy harbor, with many tour boats, private sailing yachts as well as some cargo ships. This is the biggest town in the Galapagos, with the large population of about 20,000 thousand inhabitants. Puerto Ayora is a lovely busy town, with many hotels, restaurants, art galleries, boutiques, and many businesses related to the tourism industry but also it is the headquarters of many conservation organizations and the two main entities responsible for management and science research of the Islands, the Galapagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station.
In the morning, right after breakfast we took our guests for a very interesting visit to the breeding center of giant tortoises. This project that started over forty years ago, when scientists and Galapagos National Park authorities realized that most of the species of this emblematic reptiles were seriously threatened either by the few numbers of reproductive individuals, by the alteration of their ecosystem, and furthermore by the presence of introduced animals.
Our guests were able to understand a little bit better the natural history of these giant reptiles, the challenges they are facing, and the incredible effort and success of breeding them in captivity, which is one of the most successful captive breeding programs in the entire world.
After the tortoise breeding visit, our guests enjoyed a short walk to the main street in town where they were able to do some shopping and observe the wonderful sights of this lovely town. They also visited the fish market, an attraction not only for visitors but also for some of our endemic inhabitants such as sea lions, lava gulls, and pelicans.
At 10:30 it was time to board the buses that took the bike riders to the town of Bellavista for a bike ride of three miles, ending at a sugar cane mill named El Trapiche, which is owned by a local family. Then, the rest of the group went directly to the Trapiche and everybody here was able to learn about the traditional way of preparing melazas and “aguardiente” (liquor) out of sugar cane. They also learned how this family cultivates and toasts organic coffee and how they make a living here on the islands.
At midday it was time for a healthy lunch in the highlands at the lovely restaurant “Aquellare,” which is surrounded by beautiful gardens. Right after lunch the day was not over, and our guests were able to choose between seeing giant tortoises in the wild, or going back to explore once again the town. Of course, many choose the first option, as there is nothing better to see those giant creatures moving slowly in the green pastures of the highlands, their habitat for the past few centuries!
