- Start of trip and Quito
- Flight to Baltra and underway — our Galapagos adventure begins!
- Española Island, Galapagos Islands
- Floreana Island, Galápagos Islands
- Isabela Island, Galápagos Islands
- South Plaza Island, Galápagos Islands
- Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos Islands
- A quick stop in Lima, Peru
- Ollantaytambo, Peru
- Machu Picchu — we finally got here!
- Back to Cusco, Peru
- Back to Lima and end of trip
Today is our last full day in the Galapagos, and we spent it on Santa Cruz Island, the second largest of the islands and the most populous (12,000 of the Galápagos Islands’ 20,000 people live there). It was a real culture shock to get there; there were people all over the boat landing. It turns out that if you not cruising through the Galápagos Islands, you generally stay in the local town (Puerto Ayura) and take day trips. We had now left the safety of our COVID bubble, so had to mask up. We were originally going to visit the Charles Darwin Research Center and tour around the town a bit, but there were too many worries about COVID, so we got out of there pretty quickly. Anyway, we were on a mission! After learning about the many conservation and preservation challenges faced in the archipelago, today we turned some of that learning into action. Celebrity Cruises has partnered with the Galapagos National Park in a reforestation project to plant fast-growing native trees called Scalesias up in the highlands near Los Gemelos. Celebrity passengers and crew, in addition to the efforts of community members have now planted over 52,000 trees since 2014 and the results are pretty dramatic. Anyway, we bused up into the rainforest (and yes, it was definitely raining, put on our Wellies, grabbed our two seedlings and a trowel, and slogged down the muddy path to our work area. The planting portion of the program took much less time than getting in and out of our boots and cleaning up. But it felt good to contribute something to this worthwhile project.
From there, we went over to the Manzanillo Ranch. One of the initiatives that is going on is to convince a number of farmers to shift over to tourism which is by far the most significant revenue generator and job producer in the islands. As an example the Manzanillo Ranch no longer farms, but has returned its land to its natural state which still allows free range cattle ranching, while providing more land for Giant Tortoises to graze. The recovery of the Giant Tortoises from near extinction to a healthy, growing population is nothing short of amazing. After wandering around the ranch seeing more tortoises in their natural surroundings, we went back to the ranch for lunch, some entertainment, and a small dose of of retail therapy. Then it was back to the ship to start packing.
Tomorrow, we head to Lima to start the second part of our trip in the Peruvian Highlands. And we got some really good news. Up to this point, Peru required a PCR test which meant we were going to have to return to Quito, get tested and lose a day in Peru. We also were going to have to double mask and wear a face shield for our time in Machu Picchu. But as of today, those restrictions were lifted, meaning we would be able to go to Lima and start our time in Peru. We thoroughly enjoyed our time here in the Galapagos. It can get pretty hot this time of year, but any discomfort pales in the amazing things we have seen and learned on the road.
This entry was posted in Ecuador, Galápagos Islands, National Park/Monument, South America, Travel
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
