9/7/07 - Santa Cruz - Galapagos Islands

I'm going to skip over a little travel time on our Honeymoon recap. Once we left Peru we spent a night in Quito Ecuador. We got a hot shower, a nice meal, and took a plane in the morning to Baltra Island in the Galapagos. After landing we took a short ferry ride to the main Island of Santa Cruz. We took a 45 minute bus trip from the north end of the island down to the southern tip. We boarded our ship, "Galapagos Adventure". We settled in, ate lunch, and departed the ship for the Charles Darwin Research Center. This is a volunteer facility where research and preservation is performed on the galapagos tortoise and other local species. The afternoon was spend on a guided tour of the center and the nearby town Puerto Ayora. Most of the animals are kept in captivity, are taught how to find food and water, and released into the wild at a certain age. The first day was just a teaser for the upcoming days we would have roaming around the islands.

More images including some of the captive tortoises can be seen here:
2007-09-07 - Santa Cruz Island - The Galápagos Islands

Unfortunately we did not get a clear view of "Lonesome George", although we did see his leg and a few of his lady friends. Its quite an amazing story. I you do not know about Lonesome George I suggest reading more here! Lonesome George