Santa Cruz

There isn't a lot to this afternoon, really. The option was go up to the highlands with an opportunity to see Giant Tortoises in the wild (on a Tortoise Reserve - How "in the wild" is that?), or go to the Charles Darwin Research Station for Giant Tortoise breeding (again!).

Much as though we would have like to have gone to the highlands (which also visited a Lava Tube), we had to go to the research centre. Why, you might ask. Well the answer is very simple - if there is one thing that is synonymous with the Galapagos Islands then it has to be Lonesome George. Lonesome George is a giant tortoise and the last of his sub-species. He hails from the Island of Pinto and there are no more - indeed there is a reward for anyone who can find a mate for Lonesome George. To come to the Galapagos and not see Lonesome George just doesn't seem right and anyway, how often to you get to the opportunity to see that last surviving member of a sub-species.

On landing we saw a Lava Heron before the short walk to the research centre where apart from tortoises we spotted a yellow warbler finch, identifiable from the red crown. 

Yellow Warbler Finch

The layout of the CDRS is isolated secure pens for pure breed Giant Tortoises and slightly more open pens for cross breeds which the public can get close to.

Us with a giant friend

Lonesome George proved very difficult to find - in fact our "official" tour didn't find him as the pens are furnished as the wild i.e. trees, shrubs and bushes. However we were not to be beaten - having come all this way we wanted to see him and see most of him we did. He was asleep behind a bush - apparently afternoon is not the best time to view tortoises because they tend to find a shaded spot and sleep.

Lonesome George (or some of him)

After the tour we walked to town with no real idea of how far it was to town and how far it was to to the marina for the boat back to the Galapagos Explorer II. Consequently it was a bit of a mad dash at the end because the marina was at the very far end of town.

At the end of a very satisfactory day we returned to the ship for dinner.

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