As soon as we disembarked we saw a different Galapagos from the past two days. The bay is busy with local boats and sailing yachts passing by in a race on the Pacific. We land on the main pier of Puerto Ayora were we become part of a new day in a town that offers everything a tourist needs, like places for internet, bars, food etc. But our main goal is to reach the rearing center of tortoises. We started with a 10 minute walk and along the path we admired how marine iguanas get along with the locals passing by. Careless of what is around them, the iguanas just lay there warming up for the next feeding time.
We reached the facilities where this amazing undertaking started in 1972, rearing babies for the future, a future that is now present and to know how successful it has been makes us feel great satisfaction and hope for these amazing giants. To see the corrals of babies and then see the adults makes you realize the journey they have had. We learn about land iguanas and the efforts to bring them back to colonies like Baltra were they were once obsolete.
We had some time in town to get some souvenirs and walk along with the locals. The fisherman’s market was a lot fun. Sea lions, pelicans and frigates all wanted a share of the leftovers. On our way up to highlands we could experience the change in vegetation from dry to green fields. Farms of cattle and coffee plantations are how people in Galapagos have survived for over a century on these islands and is how they are able to sustain themselves. We then enjoyed a BBQ lunch which was wonderful and tasty.
Then we viewed the icon of the Galapagos Islands, the Galapagos tortoises. Actually the islands are named after these reptiles, these impressive giants roaming these grassy fields. They are so prehistoric looking that it is easy to see that they shared their time with dinosaurs. They pass their time eating, mating, sleeping, migrating, and live slow life. Live slow and live long seems to be the way to go in the Galapagos.
