You just can’t imagine how large the giant tortoises of Santa Cruz Island are. They sometimes reach 600 pounds and live to almost 130 years. They lumber along and every so often just appear…like while we were eating an outdoor lunch yesterday one emerged from under the structure. They certainly are awesome.
While on Santa Cruz we also visited the Darwin Research Center were they are doing a great job to preserve several endangered species like the giant tortoises as well as the Galapagos land iguana pictured here.
I am presently in Quito and we return home tomorrow evening. This has been a wonderful vacation to the Galápagos Islands and we leave with many very fond memories for what we have seen and the people we have met. Hats off to the crew and staff of the MV Galapagos Explorer II for their tremendous service!
Barry Day 