Day #6: Tortoises!

We spent this entire day on Santa Cruz, the 2nd largest but most populated island of the Galapagos. It was a bit shocking when we disembarked the boat to see so many people gathered in the center of town (to watch voleyball matches, a common pastime here). After so many days of seeing so few people, it felt so cosmopolitan! Santa Cruz is more built-up in a tourist-town sort of way - there are even a few traffic lights.

We began the day with a visit to a forest restoration project. Much of the natural ecosystem of the Galapagos has been displaced by agriculture, and this project aims to help restore some of the local flora. After learning about the operation, we were all put to work pruning young trees, preparing them for eventual transplantation. This facility can grow thousands of trees at once for reintroduction.

It was nice to be able to give back to this beautiful region that has given us so much fulfillment:

From there, we drove to an area to view Galapagos giant tortoises in the wild. This was a moment that many of us had been anticipating from months! We were not disappointed, being "greeted" by a tortoise in the road as we drove to the site:

At this time of year, the tortoises spend their days grazing on abundant grasses in the highlands. We began our tortoise education with a guided walk through the area:

We explored some large lava tubes that had formed in the area. These are tunnels left behind after molten lava rushes through an area, cooling only around the edges. We had seen several such tubes on other islands, but none that were large enough to walk through:

We were given free reign to explore the wooded fields which were dotted with giant tortoises. They ranged in size from about 2 feet across (measuring the long axis of the shell) to about 4 feet across. Some were shy and would withdraw into their shell as you approached. Others didn't seem to notice or care about our presence at all. Most were eating grass, some were wallowing in mud, and some were slooooowly traversing the landscape.

For many of us, today was a bucket list item fulfilled. I didn't' expect to see so many tortoises, and nothing quite prepares you for how big and awesome they are.

We left to highlands and returned to the hotel for a brief rest. We changed into beach gear and headed out on a 3km hike to a famous beach called Tortuga Bay:

We relaxed in an inlet with calm, warm, shallow water. It felt great to chill for a few hours, enjoying the warmth, sand, water, and of course the ubiquitous wildlife:

Located along a black lava cliff that bordered the swimming area, we were able to explore a cactus forest. This was a truly unique area featuring cacti up to 30 feet tall, some with cinnamon-brown trunks, and most sporting yellow prickly pear flowers.

We boarded a boat for a ride back to the main harbor. The rest of the day was spent lazily enjoying the culture of the islands, watching sea lions frolic everywhere, enjoying some local gelato, resting and talking by the pool, reflectin on our day and our journey, eating a nice dinner at a restaurant overlooking the harbor, touring a local artisan craft market, and (as usual) retiring early.

I was once again struck by the unique beauty of the Galapagos. The landscape is so varied, and so beautiful in absolutely unique ways. It's amazing to consider the tremendous variety that we had witness - and we've only been to four of the islands.

Tomorrow is our last day on the islands, so look for one final blog entry from the Galapagos! Thanks for reading.