Santa Cruz    Click on the images below to see an enlargement

Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz island has a population of about 10,000 and is the home of both the Charles Darwin Research Station and the Galapagos National Park Headquarters. The research station has an international team of scientists that studies the biology and conservation of the Galapagos.

We saw first-hand some of the conservation and research efforts in the islands. We were able to see the tortoise hatchlings and breeding programs that have brought back several species of tortoises from the point of extinction. We strolled back to the main wharf, through the town of Puerto Ayora, where tourism, boat repair, fishing, and agriculture are the major trades. It was also an opportunity to buy souvenirs.

Our trip to the highlands of Santa Cruz was made by bus. (Unusually, the TV suspended behind the driver was turned on, for the 2006 World Football Cup qualifying match between Uruguay and Ecuador being played in Quito, and doubtless being watched by virtually all of Ecuador. A win or a draw would leave Ecuador in the top four. When the game ended in a draw, the whole of Santa Cruz seemed to climb onto and into every utility/taxi and join a procession of cheering, tooting and yelling from overloaded vehicles driving from Puerto Ayora to Santa Rosa and back.)

The scenery changed continuously as we ascended Santa Cruz through all of the vegetation zones found in the Galapagos. We visited a pair of large pit craters or sink-holes called “The Twins” (Los Gemelos). Then we walked through a huge lava tunnel, left when the outside of a long lava flow cooled more quickly than the inside, leaving a void when the flow finally ceased.

We spent a peaceful couple of hours on a farm where land is set aside (paid for by the government) to allow wild Giant Tortoises to roam freely and largely undisturbed. The golden afternoon sun provided a wonderful ambience, both psychologically and photographically.

On our final sailing back to San Cristobal, we were accompanied by Dolphins at times and by Frigatebirds at others.

Darwin Centre Giant Tortoises				Land Iguana
		Galapagos Dove	Ageratum	Lava flow tunnel
Cat's Claw	Wild Galapagos Giant Tortoise			Galapagos Bat
		Dolphin	Frigatebird
		Last sunset