There’s no doubt about it - in order to begin to understand the complexities of the Galápagos islands, taking a tour with a naturalist guide is a must. The next day we met up with Paul, a biologist, park tour guide, and coincidentally, our house manager. He’s been living in the Galápagos from England for over twenty years, and couldn’t possibly have been more passionate about sharing his knowledge with us. Alright, I’ll admit - a good deal of the technical & scientific stuff he told us went completely over my pea-brained head, but still, it made all the difference in my enhancing my appreciation for what we were witnessing.
We started out that morning by meeting him at the Charles Darwin Research Center. The center, and the Galápagos National Park (GNP), were founded approximately 50 years ago by Belgian Victor Van Straelan along with other visionary international scientists and conservationists. Distraught by the massive human destruction of its wildlife and delicate habitat during the 19th and early 20th centuries, they were spurred to action to try to save the entire archipelago’s ecosystem - something pretty much unheard of worldwide. Certain giant tortoise species had already been driven to extinction on some islands, and many other species like fur seals and whales were endangered as well. Humans had also introduced may species of invasive plants and predatory animals, which ended up dramatically altering the ecosystem. Their work was definitely cut out for them, and yet many conservationists think that it’s been a true success story in that the environment now is in far better condition than it was 100 years ago. Very cool.
Paul took us through the park, showing us the various land tortoises bred there, which are then reintroduced to their respective islands. Some original giant land tortoises have lived there for years and have become very comfortable with humans. There were lovely iguanas, too. We learned that the park caretakers used to feed them personally, but now would never do so that they learn to survive on their own before being put back into the wild.
After lunch, Paul greeted us at the dock in a fancy leather-seated van to take us to a few sites unexpected, beginning with a lava tunnel. Several cut through the island. What’s neat is that you can actually see the lines marking where the lava flowed at various levels. There’s also a major difference in the consistency of lava rock ~ one is hard stone which was created under the pressure of weight, while the top layers have bubbles created by gases that expanded and burst. Amazing.
We then went over to the Pit Craters ~ massive pits formed by the land apparently caving in. Inside they’re lush with trees, although the endemic (native) scalacia trees are being crowded out by a species of blackberry that was introduced. Paul has witnessed these losses over time, including a guava and a quinine species, too. Most sadly, there used to be a beautiful crimson colored finch seen all over that hasn’t been seen in a few years. What a loss.
Finally, our last stop was to a giant land tortoise farm. There we met Steve, a friend of Paul’s whose parents came to live in the “highlands” of the island when there was absolutely nothing - no stores, schools, amenities, or even roads. I can’t imagine. I tried to get a handle on what it had been like for him to grow up in such isolation, but I’m not sure I really got the answer. He said he had to go everywhere with a machete, and that it took hours to get to Puerto Ayora on horseback (just a half hour or so now by car). He went to school in Cuenca at 10 years old, and then back to Santa Cruz where they actually had a class of eight students. Later his mother tried to home-school him with the Calvert method, but he ultimately ended up in high school in Guayaquil. Wow!
His family had gotten into farming on the island, but then when the tourists started coming they also realized a niche in something very special - sharing the joy of the immense land tortoises who’d found the ideal place to hang out at their farm. The terrain is really lush at these higher elevations, providing yummy vegetation for them to chomp on. We learned, too, that most tortoises are male here. For some reason the females tend to stay closer to the coast, where it’s easier for them and still provides sufficient plants to feed on.
We couldn’t believe how many assive tortoises domes dotted the farm all over. They evenallowed us to get fairly up close and personal, though we did stay a respectable distance away to marvel at them. Very fun.
What a full day. Full of learning, full of surprises. We topped it off with a lovely coconut fish dinner at William's, served at a table in the middle of the street. I just love this place!
We started out that morning by meeting him at the Charles Darwin Research Center. The center, and the Galápagos National Park (GNP), were founded approximately 50 years ago by Belgian Victor Van Straelan along with other visionary international scientists and conservationists. Distraught by the massive human destruction of its wildlife and delicate habitat during the 19th and early 20th centuries, they were spurred to action to try to save the entire archipelago’s ecosystem - something pretty much unheard of worldwide. Certain giant tortoise species had already been driven to extinction on some islands, and many other species like fur seals and whales were endangered as well. Humans had also introduced may species of invasive plants and predatory animals, which ended up dramatically altering the ecosystem. Their work was definitely cut out for them, and yet many conservationists think that it’s been a true success story in that the environment now is in far better condition than it was 100 years ago. Very cool.
Paul took us through the park, showing us the various land tortoises bred there, which are then reintroduced to their respective islands. Some original giant land tortoises have lived there for years and have become very comfortable with humans. There were lovely iguanas, too. We learned that the park caretakers used to feed them personally, but now would never do so that they learn to survive on their own before being put back into the wild.
After lunch, Paul greeted us at the dock in a fancy leather-seated van to take us to a few sites unexpected, beginning with a lava tunnel. Several cut through the island. What’s neat is that you can actually see the lines marking where the lava flowed at various levels. There’s also a major difference in the consistency of lava rock ~ one is hard stone which was created under the pressure of weight, while the top layers have bubbles created by gases that expanded and burst. Amazing.
What a full day. Full of learning, full of surprises. We topped it off with a lovely coconut fish dinner at William's, served at a table in the middle of the street. I just love this place! 
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