Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island
It is always exciting to return after a few months away from these islands. The changes in vegetation, behavior of the inhabitants, and temperature, build up into a type of excited anticipation that can only be assuaged with a visual confirmation that all is right with this special world. Today we arrived in the small town of Puerto Ayora, main hub of activity for the archipelago that some 12,000 people call home. Not all live on this one island, but a good many, and business was bustling along the streets after we left the Charles Darwin Research Station and made our way through town. The main jetty is under construction along with the main plaza, so hopefully soon, in another few weeks, the dust will have settled and a new face to the waterfront will be unveiled. At the station the tortoises were eating and iguanas were basking, centerpieces of the joint conservation efforts of the station and Galapagos National Park. In town people were walking, riding their bicycles, or driving about their business, all under the thin morning cloud cover of the dry season “garua” which passes for winter in the islands. Temperatures were perfect actually, and to my imagination even the giant tortoises seemed perky (if such an animal can ever get “perky”). For being considered the slow season, shops were all open doing business and the cafes had clients as we walked the length of main street to where the buses awaited.
Lunch was delicious, volleyball competitive, the pool water cool. Up in the highlands the afternoon was filled with tortoises wandering green fields and languidly eating while perhaps contemplating where the path of life will take them. The next green patch looked good. They ignored unabashedly the fascinated visitors of a different species (seemingly from a different planet) emitting clicking sounds and noisy exhalations of air in wonder over normal routine munching and movement.
