CHARLES DARWIN RESEARCH CENTER, PORTA AYORA WATERFRONT, SANTA CRUZ, GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2018

CHARLES DARWIN RESEARCH CENTER, PORTA AYORA WATERFRONT, SANTA CRUZ, GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

         Awake in our hotel, we had showers and descended to the lobby level for another one of Liliana’s big breakfasts. Llew was completely out of sorts as his stomach was out—he merely ate bananas and drank coffee. Having discovered that the tour that we had booked for today was exactly the same as the one we had taken to Loberia Island, the day before yesterday, we cancelled it and decided to spend the day doing exactly as we pleased.

Off to the Darwin Research Center:

         One of the most popular venues on Santa Cruz Island is the Darwin Research Center which is named after the famed Victorian naturalist who spent 5 months only on the islands researching their wild life. However, a great deal of contemporary research is carried out at this Center and most tourists and student groups make it a point to visit the place. It is a sprawling property at one end of Santa Cruz Island and it is reached by a lovely rambling walk past many souvenir shops and local houses. 

         Once at the site, which is free to the public, you follow signs that lead you through many different segments of the center. We saw the tortoise pens, for instance, filled with tortoise species from the different islands—each one slightly different from the other, although at first glance, they all appear to be the same. We also saw a large number of iguanas including the lime-green and yellow speckled land iguanas which are only seen in the north of Seymour Island and which had eluded us up to this point. 

         We saw Darwin’s Finches—in many colors. We saw the giant skeleton of a killer whale that had actually been beached on the island a few years ago. We loved the way the entire place was laid out and landscaped with raised wooden walking platforms upon which we trod our way from one pen to the next. It was easy to understand why the Darwin Center is so popular with tour groups as well as cruise ship passengers for we saw many such groups during our time there.

Lunch at Porto Ayora:

         The main center/town of Santa Cruz Island is known as Porto Ayora. It is where all sailing activity takes place and where the most shops can be found. As it was mid-day and time for lunch, we decided to eat in one of the eateries offering a set meal for $5. Llew bowed out and returned to our hotel as he was exhausted with his upset stomach and needed to take a break. Blair, Chriselle and I continued to a small place called the Lemonade Café where we ordered beer, ceviche and shrimp curry served with rice. Seafood is really the best thing to eat on the Galapagos Islands as it is fresh, plentiful and pretty inexpensive. 

         When we finished our meal, Blair found his way to our hotel, but Chriselle and I walked to the end of the pier where a big sign in wood and shells pronounced that we were on the Galapagos Islands. We took many pictures here, made a visit at the local Catholic church where we made our customary three wishes, and then found our own way back to the hotel for short naps.  It was a far more relaxing day than we’d had in a long time and we were glad that we were chilling in this fashion. 

         As usual, at 7.00 pm, we met in the hotel lobby and set out for dinner.  This time we chose a less snazzy place that offered more cocktails and seafood fare. The restaurants have typical island décor and are very casual. We had finally reached the last night of our stay on the Galapagos Islands. The next morning, we would be on our way out and heading towards the last leg of our travels.

         Until manana, adios…