A very cruisy day, off to the highlands in an organised bus to see the giant tortoises in ´the wild´. It was actually on private land that happens to be where the tortoises hang out. It was a little strange seeing them in lush grass. The tortoises are named after ´Galapago,´ an old Spanish word for saddle.
Time for a quick wander in Puerto Ayora before back to the boat for lunch. Then back to shore to visit the Darwin Centre. This was a slightly sad visit as Lonesome George, the 120 year old tortoise from Pinta Island and the last of his subspecies, had died.
The centre collects tortoise eggs and hatches them, keeps the young until they are five to six years old, then releases them back into the wild. Each island has a different subspecies of tortoise, so they are kept separate to ensure there is no interbreeding. There is even an enclosure with seven male tortoise's that were sent homes from zoos around the world; they are not allowed to breed as they are mixed.
We didn´t leave the harbour until 9:30 as Fabricio had been called to the press conference about Lonesome George´s death. He has been guiding for more than 30 years and his licence number is 002. There was concern on the boat as we´d been warned that the passage would be rough, but we were all safely tucked up in bed, full of seasickness medication by the time we left the harbour. It was quite bumpy and rocky at times, so sleep was a little broken, but no-one got sick.
One of the many Darwin's finches
Another lava lizard, one of the seven different species
Nemo II in the harbour (the catamaran in the centre of the picture)
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