Santa Cruz
Today we had a break from the Endeavour, spending the full day on Santa Cruz. We hopped into our zodiacs and headed into Puerto Ayora, home to 18,000 people and the economic hub of the islands. After landing at the dock we jumped onto buses for a ride through town to the Charles Darwin Research Station. This amazing organization has its hand in research and conservation projects across the archipelago, including many complex projects to eliminate invasive species.
We were able to see a handful of giant tortoise species from other islands, including the saddlebacks, whose shells rise upwards at the front to allow their very long necks to snag hard to reach leaves. The CDRS used to be the home of Lonesome George, the last of the Pinzon Island Tortoises, who passed a few years ago. The famous Tortoise there now is Diego, he was brought from the San Diego Zoo as one of the last males of his species and quickly got to work. He’s quite the ladies tortoise and has fathered well over a thousand young!
We met at the Rock Café for a quick beverage jumped into buses again to begin heading into the highlands. Most went to a sugar cane mill and to see how local Galapaguenos live. One bus headed to a school, to meet some students and see what school is like in the Galapagos. I’m wondering if they have any openings in the science department! The school is open air and spread along the side of a hill in a forested area. The students were all so happy, running around and taking part of all sorts of activities, very few were in their seats, but they were all learning. We paired up with each group getting a student tour guide to show us the school and practice their english. It was a lot of fun to see them at recess, it was how I remember it growing up. Running around, climbing things and jumping off and getting dirty. We definitely put way to many rules on our outdoor play.
Mark and I each took a turn with the videographer and talked about what we saw and how it compared to how we teach, before hopping on a bus and going to a restaurant called Aquelarre. This was a little family run restaurant set on a beautiful piece of land. What a change from the dry, volcanic regions we’ve been exploring all week. In the highlands the land is lush and green, with many plant species you’d expect to find in a tropical forest.
After lunch we went further into the highlands and spotted dozens of giant tortoises in the fields along the way. Farmers in the highlands can build there fences in one of two ways, higher off the ground so tortoises can pass through on their migration or right to the ground to completely block off the bottom so Tortoises can’t get in period. We spent the afternoon roaming though a large field and photographing the multitude of different sized tortoises doing there thing, basically eating grass and shifting their massive bulk to find a new patch of grass.
Before being turned loose, Mark and I has a photo shoot with Aura. Aura's amazing, she's one of the naturalists on board and an excellent photographer. One of her other tasks was to keep an eye on us and make sure that Mark and I had what we needed for the week. We were free to roam the field and photograph the tortoises, but I really wanted to try and get a photo of one in the forest, surrounded by green like I’d seen on the ship. So I slipped off into the bush and followed a trail for quite a while. The backdrop everywhere was perfect, just no tortoise. It was past time when I should have turned back, but the persistence paid off and I found one. I spent some time flat out in the muck shooting some photos and videos as the tortoise munched away.
When I returned to the bus area, people were still milling about so I took advantage of some more photo time in the field and slipped onto the bus just in time. We headed back into Puerto Ayora and while some chose to return to the ship, I opted to explore the town for the last few hours of light. The shops were pretty touristy, but a cerveza on a patio made up for it. In a little square by the water, locals were gathering and some of the men were getting ready for battle. They play a type of volleyball/handball and things get pretty heated. There are three per side, one hand serving, lifts and pushes are fair game as the net is quite a bit higher than a volleyball net.
It was fun too watch, money was changing hands and tempers flared from time to time. A women arrived with a homemade stew and was serving it out to spectators. Many were enjoying the action as kids were playing around the square. It was a really fun environment to be a part of. I’ll update all of the blog posts with some videos from various days upon my return to a land with more reliable internet.
As the last light faded, the stragglers from the Endeavour hopped onto the last zodiac back to the ship. Onboard we recapped our day and had a briefing for tomorrow’s expeditions. We also had a presentation from two staff members from the Charles Darwin Research Centre After dinner. They talked about the project to save Mangrove Finches from and invasive fly species. The larva get into the nostrils of nestlings and feed on blood, when larger they hide in the bottom of the nest, coming out at night to rasp at the skin. Mangrove Finch numbers have fallen to approximately 20 breeding pairs. The CDRS is working to eradicate the fly and at the same time captive hatching and rearing chicks to release into the wild.
After dinner we were treated to an amazing concert of local music and dancers, before most retired for the night. A very small number of naturalists and guests occupied the bar for a drink or two and to share adventures past and present. When it was finally time to crash, I detoured to the bridge to meet the two officers and hear a little bit about the equipment and where we were heading. Another long and deeply satisfying Galapagos day in the books!
Baby Watch: Negative