Today we visited Puerto Ayora, the capital of tourism of the Galapagos Islands. Early in the morning, we visited the Galapagos National Park headquarters and the Charles Darwin Research Station. We learned about the conservation efforts to restore several species of giant tortoises, including the species from Floreana that once was considered an extinct species. To our surprise, the first batch of giant tortoise eggs from Floreana already hatched in January and we were able to see the little ones in their corrals.
We also visited Lonesome George exhibit to learn about the consequences of species extinctions and finally we observed Super Diego, a giant tortoise from Española that has been able to produce more than 2000 offspring, what an inspiration for conservation.
In the afternoon we travel by bus to El Trapiche, a locally own farm to learn about the elaboration of chocolate, coffee and moonshine. We had a great time learning from Adrian and his family. Afterwards we travel to restaurant Aquelarre, a beautiful setting to have lunch and enjoy the lush of the highlands. Finally, we travel to El Chato II to observe one of the most numerous population of giant tortoises in the wild. We watched them feeding, mating and resting.
