March 30, Lima, Peru: Coastal Wildlife of Peru

Today we woke up in Lima Peru, We have never been to Peru!!! Except in the airport last week- and here we are! Information about Lima is after this information about our excursion today. 33 million people live in all of Peru.

We chose to participate in the Viking Included tour: Coastal Wildlife of Peru, We are most excited to enjoy Lima’s rich marine wildlife as we sail along the scenic coastline of Peru. Just because we can’t seem to get enough of being on a boat in the water!!!

We met our guide and drove to the Callao Yacht Club, where we saw yachts, warships, submarines, and merchant vessels that illustrate Lima’s seafaring traditions.

A US submarine purchased by Peru

We embarked the ship and sailed past San Lorenzo Island, Peru’s largest at five miles long. It was once used as a cemetery by the earliest inhabitants of Peru. We went to an island with a MOAI carved in a rock- similar to Easter island. Nearby we were able to see HUMBOLT penguins, Inca Turn birds with red beaks.

MOAI ROCK

Peruvian independence heroes from the Battle of Callao are also buried here. We continued on to the Palomino Islands and through their rocky landscape, home to a colony of sea lions of over three thousand sea lions! Which, by the way we’re not on our original list of 3 animals to see!!!

Humboldt penguins

We donned a wetsuit and dive in to the waters for a closer encounter with these friendly creatures. These inquisitive residents swam out to greet any human visitors. It was a bit of a swim, extremely stinky- but totally worth it! Just imagine thousands of seals all on the same island! We sail ed back between the islets, inhabited by numerous bird species including the second-largest Humboldt penguin colony in Peru, We thought we were lucky viewing the penguins in Antarctica!!! Here we are with the famous penguin of Peru!

Swimming with the seals

A Literal blanket of seals circumventing the island

The Pelicans near the harbor

Prior to arriving here we learned a little about Lima which if gamed for being the gastronomical Capitol of the americas and the iconic Inca trail. We knew nothing about the city itself:

1- Lima is the fifth largest city in South America and has bout 10 million people.

2. Lima is nicknamed “The City of Kings”

When the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizzaro founded Lima on January 18, 1535, he called it “The City of Kings” or “La Ciudad de Los Reyes”. Some say this is because he discovered it during the important Catholic holiday, Three Kings Day. 

3. Lima is the second-largest desert city in the world. Second only to Cairo in Egypt, Lima is one of the largest desert cities in the world. 

4. Lima is popular with black vultures. When we Looked up to the sky and we saw black vultures circling over the city. While they have a bad reputation, these black vultures – known locally as gallinazos – are actually cleaning up the city.

5. Lima had some serious issues with pirates in the past. By the 16th century, Lima had become a wealthy trading centre, which made it a target for pirates.

6. Lima is home to one of the world’s smallest churches

The Chapel Our Lady of the Rosary – Nuestra Señora del Rosario – located in Rimac in downtown Lima, is probably the smallest chapel in the world.

7. Lima is home to one of the oldest universities in the Americas

The National University of San Marcos is the oldest continuously operating university in the Americas. Founded in 1551 by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, it is the most prestigious university in the country.

March 27, Iquique Chile

Today we find ourselves in Iquique, Chile, northernmost part of Chile, has a population of 200,000. The world production of Potassium Nitrate is mined here. Some of largest deposits of Saltpeter in the world were discovered in northern Chile, Peru and Bolivia; used in producing sodium nitrate fertilizer the product transformed agricultural lands across NA, SA and Europe. Saltpeter mining generated great wealth for Iquique and Chile.

We chose to participate in the included shore excursion called “Humberstone & Cerro Pintados Geoglyphs”

This excursion initiated with a bus ride, where we explored the history and heritage of the world’s driest desert, the Atacama desert=no rainfall ever. The Atacama Desert is a desert plateau located at 3,280 feet on the Pacific coast of South America, in the north of Chile.

Iquique city surrounded by sand dunes

We embarked on our coach for a scenic drive across the Chilean Coastal Range and into the Pampa region of the great Atacama Desert. This city sits at the bottom of the largest sand dune in the world. This desolate landscape became a conflict zone during the 19th century as three South American nations—Peru, Bolivia and Chile—fought over its resources. We stopped in Humberstone, an abandoned mining town and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here, we learned about the all important nitrate industry and the communal Pampino culture.

Description and outline of the town

The Catholic church is named Santa Maria. The dry, desert climate has preserved the ghost-like town and we saw the workers quarters, the factory plant and the railway.

Santa Maria

Next, drove toward the Pampa del Tamarugal National Reserve. We saw the Cerro Pintados geoglyphs—monumental drawings of animals, people and geometric symbols that have been carved into the surrounding hillsides. It is said they were made between 700-1500 after Christ. We admired the ingenuity of the bygone indigenous cultures that thrived in these difficult conditions. Dozens of anthromorphs of similar styles are carved into the Pintaos hills. We took a lot of pictures, but are not sure if you’ll be able to make them out.

This is a very dry desert. Seriously no rain, no trees. The ground is literally cracked from freezing at night and drying during the day. It is said if you are here at night you can hear the ground cracking! Wood left over from the ships ballast that came empty to pick up the sodium nitrate. The biggest challenges the country faces is fire and earthquakes.

The bus is to provide perspective to the size of the geoglyphs

At the end of visiting the Pampa del Tamarugal National Reserve, we stopped in a forest and enjoyed a picnic lunch!

March 28, Sailing the Pacific Ocean

Today we got up bright and early to watch the weather balloon launch! It was such a beautiful morning.

The sunrise

•As part of Vikings partnership with NOAA the US National Weather Service has sanctioned an official launch station on each of the expedition ships-adding to the 102 stations in operation-and making them the world’s first civilian ships to be so equipped.

The launch

• The weather balloons are made of a special biodegradable latex that are filled with helium and have a small ‘radiosonde transmitter and sensor unit attached to them that broadcasts wind, temperature and pressure data down the to ship every second.

The data

• We were able to witness how the essential data required for global weather prediction and climate modelling are collected, a daily ritual of balloons rising simultaneously around the world, that has been undertaken by meteorological bodies for the past 60 years. Fascinating to watch!

Some of the people from the Galapagos!

This afternoon we attended a lecture on learning about the various birdwatching apps available. Then a more in-depth introduction to how the apps actually work. A fun learning experience!

March 26, Tom’s 69th Birthday- Sailing thru The Doldrums

Today we had such a fun day! Woke up exercised and enjoyed brunch! We are so happy that we enjoyed the Galapagos with 20 fellow like minded travelers – we are enjoying getting to know each of the couples. We went on a walking tour of the ship, and enjoyed discovering the hide!!

During our class on binoculars, just at the end of class a huge pod of pilot whales went by! We were all so excited, we ran to the window and practiced our new skills! What a fun class.

Binocular class

Today, we are officially traveling through the doldrums. The doldrums is a low pressure area from 5° north to 5° south of the equator. Winds are famously calm here, the prevailing breeze disappearing altogether at times, making it extremely difficult to navigate through. It’s a place for trade winds to meet other trade winds. We passed the Tropic of Capricorn earlier today. The ocean is almost flat, we were sitting in our room with the window open, and we heard a splash of some kind of fish , spinning and splashing in the water!! This is the area where sometimes ships will get stuck for extended periods of time with no wind.

For Tom’s 69th Birthday we decided to book a table at Manfredis the Italian restaurant for his birthday dinner. We recall about his 61st birthday when we flew to Singapore. Because that flight crossed the international date line, his birthday was only one hour long!!

Our invitation

Unbeknownst to Tom I had special plans for this birthday. When we boarded our vessel, the woman in charge of guest services remembered us from last year when we traveled from Bangkok to Athens. We had had difficulty with our Saudi Arabia visa and she assisted us. It was so nice to see a familiar face when we boarded, I informed her Tom‘s birthday would be when we were on the ship. She very nicely arranged for a birthday party in “The Hide” with our new Galapagos friends. It was quite the event! One of the other couples requested that the entertainer on board sing happy birthday! One of the other couples decided to serenade him as well with a hysterical karaoke, song! We enjoyed a wonderful strawberry cake along with drinks and friendship!

The Galapagos 20

We all discovered connections with each other. We had not previously known. One of the gentleman is an OB/GYN, who used the da Vinci robot!

Karaoke fun

Lovely serenade

Dinner At Manfredi’s

March 25, Sailing the Pacific Ocean

This morning we were so incredibly happy to wake up without an alarm! The pleasure to: sleep in a wonderful bed, take a hot shower and have nespresso in our room was amazing! During lunch today we enjoyed watching a very large pod of dolphins off the side of the ship.

Today we: explored the ship, noticed the updated changes to reflect our destinations and catch up with our new Galapagos friends. The Viking staff is so an accommodating and is helping me plan a little surprise for Tom’s birthday tomorrow! More on that later. We discovered the birds made of wool that were changed to those we will see on his cruise, Brown, boobies, friggin birds, etc..

Large Pod of dolphins

Viking staff for this cruise

Osprey

Black brow albatross

Frigatebird

Kingfisher bird

Mangellican penguin

Arctic Tern

Brown footed booby

Pelican

“Gull”

March 24, Lima, Peru-Santiago, Chile

Most importantly, today is Grady James’s seventh birthday birthday! What an amazing grandson we have! Today he is enjoying vacation with his family at Spring training in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Happy 7th Birthday Grady!

Last night we arrived to the Lima airport around 10:30 PM. And arrived at our hotel by 11:30 PM. This morning we woke up at 5:45am to get ready to walk to Airport. We stayed at the Airport hotel making it quite easy for us. It’s always a bit of herding cats when traveling with 20 people. However, we all have a shared of experience, and have created a sort of temporary “travel buddy” bond.

As being mostly like minded people, we are getting along quite well! Our wonderful Viking representative David, has sheparded us all through customs, immigration, passport control (once again) to our plane to Santiago . We enjoyed a three hour flight to Santiago Chile, where we were reunited with our checked bags that we departed with yesterday in Guayaquil Peru. Next a half mile walk thru the airport, and around the building to our bus. This far today we have walked a total of 2.7 miles with it luggage. Just remember, we were on our final bus ride for this pre-extension. We learn that once we get to port, there is yet one last final bus ride to the ship!

Our Boeing seven 87–9 airplane flown through LA T a.m.. Airways brought us to Santiago today. Don’t worry about all the duct tape on the wing. We landed just fine.!!!

Our airplane is literally duct taped together!!

I failed to mention that the handle on our one large checked bag got damaged during our very first flight, and has remained non-functional ever since! During the 1.5 hr bus ride, we were provided with an orientation to Chile, Santiago, while crossing to the ocean.

We are so excited to be back on board the beautiful Viking Octantis Expedition Ship! As you might recall, we spent three weeks on this very ship exploring the Great Lakes last Summer, then again for 2 weeks during our Antarctica voyage in February. Now that I have of two knees replacements behind me, I truly look forward to the adventure before us!

A little history about our last visit to Santiago Chile. On February 14, 2014 while on a Princess cruise with our friends Sara and Bruce, we visited the American Consulate in Santiago Chile. One of my fellow Hospital Supervisors had a daughter who was employed a the consulate. She was newly pregnant, missing the US and really wanting Jiff Peanut butter!!! So we had a real adventure going on a tour of the consulate, getting in trouble for taking this photo, and visiting my friend’s daughter. We have been thinking of this adventure in preparation for this cruise. The guards at the American Consulate were NOT AT ALL FRIENDLY while holding their big guns and stating we were not allowed in- even though we had an appointment and American passports! I had to e-mail my friend’s daughter from the outside gate, where she rescued us!

In front of the American consulate in Santiago from 2014!

The drink we were first introduced to in Chile is the Pisco Sour. Made with Pisco, Simple syrup, lime juice, egg white and bitters. We enjoy a “nightcap” of a Piscon Sour last night when we arrived at the hotel. So what is Pisco? Because Pisco is made from grapes and its specific process, it’s relatively sweeter than Whiskey. Naturally, Pisco tastes like grapes with a bit of citrus or vanilla notes. Pisco has no earthy or wood smell, a feature common to Whiskey because it’s aged in oak barrels. 

If you try to concentrate on their tastes, Pisco and Whiskey are opposites of the same coin. One is fruity, while the other flavors of grain. Pisco has a citrus and playful profile, while Whiskey is earthy and smoothly scented with wood. They both give that relaxing taste of good spirits in different blends.

We were the very last people on board tonight! As soon as we completed our briefing and master drill and lifejacket safety, the ship took off! Oh, yes, they gave us a glass of champagne before then. We are now happily sailing away from Santiago. we are enjoying crab legs and sushi for dinner along with the famous Malva pudding for dessert.!!

Goodby Santiago!

March 23, Santa Cruz Island, Ecuador

Our morning breakfast view!

We woke up to the most beautiful morning enjoyed breakfast with the seals, crabs, iguanas at 6:15, and were on the bus to the other side of Santa Cruz Island by seven, this is a 44 minute ride. On the way to the airport we saw a sign for a hyperbaric chamber diving safety center. I forgot to mention that the taxis in town are white pick up trucks with numbers on the roof!

Transportation to the port was a bus, then water taxi back (30 min) to Baltra island, sweaty public bus (20 min) to the Airport, where we played a game of chicken with the iguanas in the road (they have the right of way).

Today we flew on the Viking charter flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador. At first we thought we were staying here but no, there’s always a change of plans. We are going to Lima Peru on a flight later today. Today when we boarded the flight in Baltra, there was this huge spider in the overhead luggage storage walking thru the compartments. Next thing you know it is crawling down the overhead luggage compartment and then down to the chairs in the row in front of us!! There was lots of noise and commotion: I have to admit I did stand on my airplane seat as everyone was almost screaming!! Finally the brave little woman security guard got it with a tissue. The flight attendants would have NOTHING to do with it! Apparently it cannot be killed, all wildlife has to be saved in the Galapagos! We speculate that it possibly got picked up on the luggage atop the ferry on the way the bus!

After arriving in Guayaquil Peru we took a bus ride to the Hilton hotel! Actually, this hotel could be anywhere in the world they all look the same! There’s a large quinceanera party going on and many many couples in beautiful gowns has been much entertainment for us. We had a lovely lunch and are now hanging out in the lobby waiting for our next flight.

We next flu they yes they were it to Lima Peru to spend the night. After seeing how our luggage has been handled, I would recommend anybody traveling to the Galapagos to bring water resistant luggage. Ours has been on the top of a water taxi in the elements which quite frequently does rain and apparently pick up humongous spiders! We will spend the night here then off to, Santiago where we will finally meet our Viking expedition ship.

Additional random facts: Tom and I have been enjoying the on-line OSHER older adult learning classes offered thru Santa Clara University. One class we recently took, was entitled “From Alge to Mammals Epigenetic’s”. Two interesting learnings from the class were:

1. Darwin thought Medical School was boring and would rather study genetics- specifically Bio-geography.

2. Darwin studied the Galapagos finches when studying genetics. And that Tortoise shells are different for every tortoise on each of the Galápagos Islands.

The Galápagos enjoys seasons, two seasons: Dry Season- June to November, Wet season December to May.

My friend Pam‘s father was enamored with butterflies and the Galapagos. I was able to take this one photo of the yellow sulfur butterfly on the arm of our guide yhesterday.

Galapagos facts:

1- 18 Archipelago of Islands

2- “Galapagos” means tortoise, and giant tortoises are one of the islands’ main attractions.

3- There are 12 hours of both daylight and nighttime year-round.

4-To protect its ecosystems, Ecuador limits the number of visitors per year and has just raised the entrance visa to $200 per person.

5-It’s the only place in the northern hemisphere where there are penguins.

6-Most Distinctive bird on the Galapagos? The blue-footed bobby! These water lovers can be found near the shorelines.

7-The Marine iguana is unique in that it is a lizard that can swim! This species is only found on the Galápagos Islands.

8- Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born on the same day, February 12, 1809. Both lost their mother at a young age and, despite their differences in upbringing, both men saw themselves as autodidacts.

Here are a couple of the snorkeling pictures from yesterday, that I got our guide took with his GoPro:

Fish during our snorkeling yesterday

March 22, Galapagos Island, Ecuador

Today we are going to North Seymour island, then Batches Island near Baltra island. The same as yesterday we took a 45 minute bus ride to the harbor where we took a dinghy boat to our cruising boat for the day . The first to greet our yacht was a group of yellow sting rays! Our first safety warning of the day was to cover your mouth when the frigate birds fly overhead as one guest had her mouth open and it pooped inside. We took a walk on North Seymore Island and saw a land iguana, young sea lions, gulls and a lot of Frigate birds!! We were able to walk along the coastline as well and it was absolutely beautiful. There was a small black racer snake on the trail and later a larger on in the rocks , there are nine species of snakes in the Galapagos. Baby blue footed boobies that are grey- they get blue feet when they grow up. Back at the boat it was time to snorkel with Frigate birds, pelicans and blue footed booby birds flying just over our heads. Then we returned to the boat we enjoyed stuffed chicken for lunch and were off to Bachata island. On Bachata beach we went walking to find flamingos. First we saw “Sally Lightfoot” crabs, next the sea turtle nest and saw their tracks to the beach! Black neck stilt birds- no flamingos. Oh well, next time?

At that point we decided we had enough sun and skipped another swim. We enjoyed some cervesas on the ride back to the pier and a bus ride back to our hotel.

Golden sting rays

Happy campers!!

Iguana

Tom snorkling

Endangered red crabs

Our guide for the day!! Our adventurous group!!

Black neck stilt bird

Galapagos Frigate Birds

I’ve learned about these magnificaent birds and hope to see one of these red breasted wonders while we are visiting the Galapagos. Only the male has the impressive red throat pouch. The females have a white undercarriage and colored eye ring.

Frigate bird

We saw so many of these magnificent birds today we lost count!

These incredible birds have been tracked flying without rest for a jaw-dropping 56 days! How is this even possible, you ask?

Well, it’s all about their remarkable flying abilities! They can effortlessly glide on warm air currents, barely needing to flap their wings for hours or even days at a time. They are able to sleep using only half of their brain, meaning they are capable of of sleeping even while in the air!

Soaring to heights of several miles high, they’re like the pilots of the avian world!

With this efficient technique, they can cover an impressive average of 260 miles of flight per day!

Beautiful View from our room!

Image of our room

March 21, Santa Cruz Island, Ecuador

To catch up on the animals we missed last night. And to report that we have now seen all of the animals we were we were hoping to watch for the pictures at the end of this post!!There are a several large black iguanas that live on the dock at the hotel- the most famous is George. Also are seals, smaller iguanas, orange crabs, pelicans and many varieties of Galapagos finches that are on-site and within feet of our outdoor dining area.

Today’s excursion is to seek out a famous yellow land iguanas, mocking birds and the sea life. We took the “Windrose” a beautiful ship Almier captain Gabriel and Pasquale: are our guide and driver today. Not just anyone could be a guide in the Galapagos. You need to be a Galapagos citizen and approved by the national guide Association. As the main source of income for all of Galapagos, they are very protective and prescriptive about who can and cannot guide visitors to their island.

Going to South Plasas island and Santa Fe Island.

17-20 thousand people on this Santa Cruz island. 35 thousand on all of the islands.

We started with a Bus ride back to the north side of island where we began yesterday.

Santa Fe Island and Las Plasas islands today – 1:45 hrs to Santa Fe island where we did a lava rock walk in search for the yellow iguanas. So many seals greeted us on the island!! Frigate birds were flying overhead all around! We first went on a lava rock hike up the mountain looking for yellow lizzards. Yellow flowers-cordeilada lute, Prickley pear Cactus tree with hawk in the tree . We saw a Galapagos hawk in a cactus tree, Rainbow grasshoppers matting, and finally a Yellow iguana!! But wait there is more!! It rained last night causing extremely muddy slippery and sticky walking situation. My walking stick kept sticking in the mud/ then when I would go to pull it out my feet would slip because of the caked on mud. So once I did slip and ended up sitting on a rock.

Snorkling with the sea lions and fish.

First blue footed boobie I saw was thru the snorkel mask. So many sea lions swimming thru the bubbles of the snorkel guide!! I have never swam with wild sea lions and so many fish before! Truly memorable experience. When we got back to the boat, they had a fresh hot water shower for us, and as we climbed the stairs they greeted us with open arms and large towel.!! Seriously amazing first class service. The fins and snorkel were very nice quality and there was always a hand to greet us getting on and off the Diggy boat. Not only that, they took all of our shoes, washed, brushed and almost dried them before we returned, they really did not want all that mud on their boat. Not only that there was a chef and a bartender served us jicama amazing fried with honey and a red juice when we got out of the water. Lunch was a fish kebab grilled. Following that we drove to the next island of we were offered another walk however I was not up for it, but time to go for the walk on the island to check out the land iguanas, and we went along Shore to observe the wildlife. We were very privileged to see a seal Nursing her pup. Just when we saw Tom and his group walking the engine on our dinghy died. We had a paddle to shore pick up Tom And the rest of the walkers. The boat turned around and met us halfway back. It was an adventure. Dessert was fried and some weird interesting lemon drink!

Interesting Galapagos facts:

The Galapagos has two seasons : Dry Season- June to November, Wet season December to May. The Galapagos is an Archipelago of 18 Islands. “Galapagos” means tortoise, and giant tortoises are one of the islands’ main attractions. There are 12 hours of both daylight and nighttime year-round. To protect its ecosystems, Ecuador limits the number of visitors per year. The Galapagos is the only place in the northern hemisphere where there are penguins (and we hope to see them!) What is Most Distinctive bird on the Galapagos? The blue-footed bobby! These water lovers can be found near the shorelines. The Marine iguana is unique in that it is a lizard that can swim! This species is only found on the Galápagos Islands.

George

Pelicans drying off

Happy Campers!

Some of the many Galápagos Islands

The beautiful bathroom on our boat

Our welcoming party

Ruling the roost!

Find out name of flowers

Galapagos hawk on Galapagos cactus tree

Our travel group

The mud was sooo deep and sticky!

Like Antarctica- everything is left un-touched

Sting ray

All of the seals swimming with us

Tom swimming with the seals

Our first official blue footed boobie siting!

More fish!!

Baby seal nursing

Our engine died and we paddled to pick up the hikers- the paddles back to the boat

March 20, Quito to Guayaquil, to Baltra Island

We are so excited for the Viking pre-arranged 3am wake up call!!! (NOT) we were down in the hotel lobby to leave at 4:00am. Bus ride to the airport- customs/agriculture inspection/ security inspection we are at our gate. There are 20 of us traveling with Viking. Our first flight brought us to Guayaquil Ecuador. After our layover we next boarded a flight to the island of Baltra. So interesting to note that prior to landing in Baltra, they came through and sprayed the entire plane, including all of the overhead compartments individually with a disinfected to help kill off any unwanted travelers insects. Insecticide did not smell nice at all, everyone was coughing, and quite sure things would never have been approved in the United States!! This spray was approved by the health organization. They are very particular about their immigration – not wanting to have anything interrupt the pristine islands. Our guide informs us that 98% of the land of the Galapagos is un-inhabited!

Next we took a bus to the Ferry to cross the Itabaca Channel to Santa Cruz Island, where we will visit a wildlife reserve famous for its conservation and breeding programs for the endangered Galápagos tortoises. There are so many butterflies all around us- one even came into our bus! It was a Galapagos sulfur butterfly.

But wait!! We have yet another hour bus ride after the ferry- then Lunch- then giant Toetises!! They provided boots for us to wear while hiking through the reserve. The area is extremely muddy with lots of puddles and insects! There are also many many giant Tortoises, and really had fun looking at them and walking about with them. We watched one male go to three or four different females, potential mates was turned down every time! We also learned that when turtles walk, they do not breath.

Their mission of the reserve is “To provide cutting-edge applied science and an inspirational tortoise-based outreach and education program to help the Galapagos National Park Directorate and other stakeholders effectively conserve giant Galapagos tortoises”

About Us | Galapagos Tortoise Movement Ecology Program

Later we stopped at the Charles Darwin research center. This was much to my delight as we were told we were not able to visit. Well, actually, we stopped at our hotel dropped our stuff off and then walked to the research center which isn’t far from the hotel , but so hot and sweaty we were drenched through everything. The research center was very nicely done with many exhibits and we were able to go to the breeding area where they’re breeding many different types of giant tortoises to replenish the islands.

Galapagos Tortoise facts:

-Galapagos means tortoise in old Spanish

-Giant Galapagos tortoise can live for 250 years and weigh up to 500 lbs

-They can go for very long periods without food/water

-Between the 16th and 20th centuries more than 100 thousand were taken and slaughtered

-Of the tortoises that did survive- rats came and ate their eggs- rendering them almost extinct

-1972 “lonesome George” a “pinto tortoise” was found and saved as the last of his species from Pinto island having lived in captivity till the end of his life

-Known as “Gardners of Galapagos” The giant tortoises have migration roots which: spread seeds, clear plants and stir up insects for birds to eat

-Tortoises migrate along the islands in search of food, mostly floating in the currents from one island to another as they cannot swim

-Currently in Santa Cruise island about 30 tortoises have GPS tags on them.

-Thus far at least three species of giant tortoises have gone extinct.

-Of the 12 different species of Galápagos giant tortoises alive today, six are Critically Endangered, three are Endangered and three are Vulnerable, according to the IUCN Red List.

-12 living species of giant tortoises remain in Galápagos and their population is currently estimated at 20,000 individuals

Check out our hotel: https://blugalapagos.com/

Giant tortoise

Mattng attempt

Charles Darwin’s office