We'd anchored in Puerto Ayora on Isla Santa Cruz in the early hours of the morning. After breakfast we took the dingies into the port and walked the short distance to the Charles Darwin Station northeast of the town. The conservation site is home to the Giant tortoise (it was home to Lonesome George, the last of his species, before he died 2 years). Each island in the archipelago has it's own indigenous species of tortoise and the station undertakes a breeding and rehabilitation programme in an attempt to restore the populations where they are on the brink of extinction. The full ground adults are huge and can survive for hundreds of years. Colour coded youngsters, some only hatched this year, are in hutches around the site. After stopping off for coffee we headed back to the boat for lunch. In the afternoon we went back to Puerto Ayora and took a bus to the highlands to visit a farm where giant tortoise roam freely, making their way from the highlands to the beach for the mating season. Back in Puerto Ayora we had some free time and enjoyed "crazy hour" at a local bar with Daphne, Peter, Michelle, Becky, Corine and Klas. In the evening we enjoyed cake made by the chef for Patricia's birthday. Patricia and Ralph, from Canada, are on holiday with their friends Janet and Jerry, from the UK living in the US. We indulged in a second bottle of wine as we all stayed up quite late in the party atmosphere. Later we set sail for Isla Sombrero Chino in more rough seas. Maybe the extra celebratory drink wasn't such a good idea!
 |
| Puerto Ayora |
 |
| The local fish market |
 |
| Giant tortoise |
 |
| Espanola tortoise |
 |
| Look at me! |
 |
| Born in 2014 |
 |
| Outside the conservation office |
 |
| Puerto Ayora |
 |
| Looking out across the bay |
 |
| It was very muddy! |
 |
| On route to the sea |
No comments:
Post a Comment