Santa Cruz Island - January 31, 2007

We woke up this morning anchored in the harbor of the town of Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz. It is the largest town in the Galapagos with about 15,000 inhabitants. We headed immediately for the Charles Darwin Research Station to see their iguana and tortoise breeding facilities. While there we got to visit the famous “Lonesome George” tortoise. George is the last of his subspecies from Pinta Island. George is in his prime at 80-100 years old but isn’t much interested in female tortoises of any other subspecies. The theory is that George was by himself for many years on Pinta Island before his discovery in the 1970’s and that he was never socialized. So, when George passes on his subspecies will become extinct.

After visiting the Darwin Station we headed into town to mail postcards and visit some shops before heading to a picnic lunch. Judy and I rented bikes to ride from town to lunch. It was only a five mile ride but it was great fun to get in a little exercise.

After lunch we drove into the highlands to see tortoises in the wild. We stopped to see some natural volcanic formations such as lava craters and lava tubes. Both of these geologic features are formed as lava flows retreat. In the case of the craters, the earth above the lava formation eventually collapses and leaves a deep crater. Lava tubes are tunnels that can apparently go on for several kilometers.

The highlight of the day was wandering through a known tortoise crossing route. We encountered a number of them as we walked along including one that a Vermillion flycatcher was using as a base of operations for hunting small insects in the grass.

Weather:
Sunny: 80-90 F

Santa Cruz Island

Birds:
Audubon shearwater
White vented storm petral
Brown pelican
Nazca booby
Magnificent frigate bird
Cattle egret
White-cheeked pintail
Whimbrel
Galapagos dove
Smooth-billed ani
Barn owl
Vermillion flycatcher
Galapagos mockingbird
Yellow warbler
Medium ground finch
Medium tree finch


Other:
Tortoises!!!!!