SANTA CRUZ ISLAND

puerto AYORA, DARWIN RESEARCH CENTER

It was another dry landing this morning at Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island. It is home of the Charles Darwin Foundation which was established to ensure the conversation of the Galapagos. In 1992, the waters surrounding the Galapagos were declared a marine reserve. It was a short bus ride up to the Charles Darwin Station where the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center is located.

Before you visit, a good thing to remember is that it is an operating research station which houses volunteers and researchers that are dedicated to preserving the ecosystem of the Galapagos Islands. Several in our group complained because it was not exactly beautiful or didn't have the perfect layout offering the typical touristy things. This place is not designed with the tourist in mind. If you are expecting Disneyland, you might want to skip this.

Otherwise, it is wonderful. You can view the Giant Tortoises and Iguana doing their thing. Just relax and enjoy!

PUERTO AYORA, DOWNTOWN FISH MARKET

Here are a few things that don't mix well: Sweltering outside temperatures, fish, flies, pelicans and humans. Nonetheless we made our way over to the famous Fish Market on the pier to watch as the sea lions anxiously waited to gobble down anything that happened to fall off the cutting board and squawking like crazy when they weren't happy. The pelicans were much more aggressive and would swoop in to try and carry something away but generally just got swatted by someone cutting fish. The flies got a swat or two but that really seemed like a lost cause. Then there was the oppressive heat along with the smell. 
Several in our group just couldn't take the combination even for the most interesting photo opportunity. Green at the gills as it were. What a fiasco! ;-)

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Scalesia planting in the highlands, santa cruz island

Michael planting his tree

A bus picked us up in town and took us up and into the Highlands on Santa Cruz Island so that we could participate in a conservation project in the highlands of Santa Cruz Island by having each of us plant a Scalesia tree.

First a little background, Scalesia Trees (sometimes called Daisy Trees because they produce a small, white flower near the ends of the branches) are actually members of the dandelion or sunflower family. They are peculiar to the Galapagos and grow in all parts of the islands. The 'sunflower tree' forests of the larger and higher islands are among the most distinctive biological features of the archipelago. There are three tree species forming compact woodlands, most of which have straight trunks and dome-shaped or rounded canopies of foliage. The largest of the tree species, Scalesia pedunculata. grows in the highlands of San Cristobal. Santa Cruz.

A gentleman and his son met us at the trail head and helped us put on rubber boots, gave us our seedling and a spade along with a numbered tag. The ground was wet and slippery so we walked slowly one by one up the trail to slope where we would be planting. All in all, a worthwhile venture but not comfortable at all. One of our friends' boots was filled with ants so although he was good-natured he was bitten by the ants and was not happy by the end of the expedition.

Scalesia Trees that Michael and I planted

Fast-growing Scalesia Trees can grow to 40-50 feet in height

But wait, there's more!
rancho manzanillo lunch and tortoise preserve

After planting our trees we all meandered back done the slopes and removed our rubber boots, washed our spades in a bucket and put our shoes back on for the bus ride to lunch to Rancho Manzanillo.

Everyone was finally back on board and most were quite peckish as it was about 1:30pm. The driver started the bus, accelerated and low and behold we were quite literally stuck in the mud. We all disembarked again and stood around being nibbled on by the ants and mosquitoes that lived in the surrounding forest. Grumble-grumble-grumble...(I'm sparing you the details), after about an hour the driver and several other drivers got the bus out of the hole and we were on our way.

​Hungry, tired and having to go to the bathroom. We arrived at the restaurant cranky and not very pleased but soon after food was served, dancers performed and we went on a terrific little hike in another forest to view the Giant Tortoises in the wild. Not a terrible way to finish the Galapagos portion of the trip.

FAREWELL DINNER AT DARWIN'S RESTAURANT

After our hike among the Giant Tortoises our bus departed to take us back to the ship for a farewell cocktail reception and dinner in the Darwin Restaurant. Dinners are always fun on this small ship but without the pomp of the larger ships. Bring something nice to wear to dinner but it is most definitely not a formal affair.
Another tidbit of information you might want to know about expedition ships is that they are much smaller than the typical cruise ships. I think our ship held about 200 passengers and crew members. (98 passengers.) This is either a good thing or a bad thing. The good thing is you have the opportunity to meet some wonderful people, as we did. The bad thing is if there is someone who grates on your nerves, it is very likely you will have to just "deal" with them for the rest of the trip and get over it. We were very lucky because even though everyone was tired, hot and sleep deprived we fell into a very cool group of people, Robin, Adam, Mollye, Glenn, Stephen, Mickey, etc. Thank you for being part of our Galapagos experience.