Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island

Dawn was splendid as the sun came through a low haze and reflected off flat seas. By breakfast we were safely anchored in Academy Bay, off of the port town of Puerto Ayora. This place is a hub of activity like no other in the archipelago – boats come, boats go, cargo comes, cargo goes, people come, people go. Some stay, such as permanent residents and the giant tortoises.

At the tortoise rearing center operated by the Galápagos National Park, today was feeding day, and the tortoises both big and small were fretting about their meal; it couldn’t come fast enough. It was a blur of activity in the corrals as they raced around in anticipation of the juicy tidbits, leaves and stems of the taro plant coming their way. Well, to be truthful, a more accurate description would be a slow jostling for position on the feeding platform.

Lonesome George was out and about from under the bushes, as was Diego and his star-studded females who together have re-populated Española with over 1,600 young from just 15 adults.

Our walk through town afterwards always has unexpected sightings, and the fisherman’s wharf provided that in quantity. Yellow-fin tuna, groupers of all shapes and sizes were being prepared and filleted, weighed and sold, while two sea lions shouldered aside brown pelicans for the coveted position at the feet of the men doing the slicing and dicing. At one point a young boy stood watching the preparer while a foot or two away also stood a fair-sized sea lion, chin on wall, also watching, but with perhaps even more intensity. He knew that sooner or later a tasty morsel would be coming his way, as indeed it did moments after the photo was taken.

The day stayed amazingly clear, which meant warm, which meant the pool in the highlands was well-used before lunch. This refreshed quite a few folks such that practically everyone was ready for an expedition into the green meadows of upper Santa Cruz Island to search for tortoises living in the wild (some mating), vermillion flycatchers, woodpecker finches, tree finches, Scalesia trees, pit craters and ponds with pintails.

An outstandingly successful day!

To see footage from this day, please click here.