The Galapagos Islands Day 5

Santa Cruz Island

The fifth and last day of my trip was spent on Santa Cruz Island visiting the Charles Darwin Research Station.

We moored in the harbor.

Then took a short truck ride to the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Where we saw some of the Galapagos Giant Tortoises.

They often live over 100 years.

There are actually different subspecies of Galapagos Giant Tortoises. There are now ten subspecies that exist in the wild, one subspecies each on the islands of Santiago, Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal, Pinzón, and Española, and five on Isabela.

I was surprised at how long of necks they have. Supposedly, the tortoises with long necks live in areas of dry climate and tortoises with short necks live in areas of wet climate... an adaptation.

The visit to the research station was the last excursion of the trip. It was then time to get on a plane and head back to the mainland.

For me, visiting the Galapagos Islands was definitely a highlight of my trip and a treat. I would not say that the islands were beautiful. However, it was extremely interesting to observe how easy it was to approach the wildlife. Sometimes I approached the animals and sometimes the animals actually approached me. I did not see any evolution in action. But, I did see a little survival of the fittest...the iguana munching on a bird.

I was fortunate that I had a really good group of people on the trip. They definitely made the trip more fun and interesting.

Parting shot... Galapagos turtles doing their thing.