We spent the day exploring the island of Santa Cruz today. We visited the Charles Darwin Foundation, where we observed the giant tortoise breeding center. This was followed by a visit to a beautiful family-owned ranch to see how farmers live in these islands. We spent the afternoon looking for Santa Cruz giant tortoises in the highlands. We ended the day by enjoying live music and dance performed by local artists on National Geographic Endeavour II.
1/21/2025
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National Geographic Endeavour II
Santa Cruz Island
We had a day full of wildlife encounters mixed with unique and fun cultural experiences on Santa Cruz Island. From the town of Puerto Ayora, we got on buses to visit El Trapiche Farm. It’s an interactive farm where our guests had the opportunity to learn about the process of sugarcane, cocoa, and coffee production. These activities are displayed by a local family that has followed these traditions for many generations. Our guests took part in these activities by helping to extract sugarcane juice, roasting coffee in an old-fashioned way, and distilling sugarcane liqueur. It was definitely a fun way for our guests to interact with the locals while learning how they make a living from farming. And as an extra bonus, we saw a barn owl sitting on a beam of the interior of the building’s roof. After visiting El Trapiche, our guests had a great time seeing the emblematic giant tortoises roaming freely by Manzanillo Ranch. We saw tortoises wandering around, some inside a mud pond, and even a mating couple. It was a spectacular way to end another day in the Galapagos.
