Today we visited my home Island, Santa Cruz, the second largest island in the Galapagos archipelago.  Several ships were anchored at Academy bay and in the distance houses and buildings were spotted. Nowadays Santa Cruz holds the largest population of the Galapagos Province, around 20000 people live here.

We were back on board and after dinner our guests were delighted with a live show. Local musicians were invited, Eco Arte group played Andean and Galapagos music, and dancers displayed traditional folklore wearing dresses of different regions.

It was another great day that came to an end, unforgettable experiences were added to this great expedition where day by day one learns and discovers nature in a way that only Galapagos can provide.

After a short break at the Rock Café, our gathering area, we headed towards “El Trapiche”, a farm run by locals where we enjoyed seeing how the family keeps the old traditions alive. One of our young explorers rode the donkey that is in charge of pressing sugar cane. Delicious and organic products were tasted, from brown sugar to coffee, different varieties of bananas, and sugar cane alcohol. We then took the buses and headed towards Narwahl Restaurant where a delicious meal was served. From there we took a bus ride to El Chato farm located right at the boundary of the Giant Tortoise Natural Reserve. Here we took our time to observe the giant tortoises in their natural habitat, which differs a lot from the lowlands. The emblematic animals of the Galapagos were in large numbers today. Huge males and several females were roaming for food while some of them tried hard to get into the little mud available. What a sight! We crossed through a big lava tunnel, which gave us a better idea of the geological formation of the islands. This visit offers a great opportunity to observe in detail the giant tortoises and learn more from the unique ecosystem of each island.
This morning our excursions included a visit to the Giant Tortoise Breeding Centre run by the Galapagos National Park Service and some facilities from the famous Charles Darwin Research Station. Through the close work of both institutions, the Galapagos archipelago is one of the best managed parks in the world! It was overcast during the morning, we even briefly needed our light rain jackets for a light drizzle, known here as “Garua”. The tortoises (“gentle giants”) enjoyed the weather conditions and even one female from Espanola Island was digging in order to lay eggs, a wonderful and rare experience even for the naturalists! Afterwards our guests walked through Puerto Ayora town, buying handicrafts and taking pictures at the busy Fishermen’s market.