Ecuador Galleries
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Snaps from Ecuador
Galapagos Islands: Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, though not the first of the Galapagos to be inhabited,
is firmly the "big island" when it comes to population. As with many
of the Galapagos, it has its own
endemic
species of frickin enormous tortoises. For the cruise, we visited
these both in their leafy wild retreats, and in
the Charles Darwin Center, home to many of the oldest and most
pampered tortoises, up to 150 years and counting
(the males weigh in at around 250kg/600lbs). Also in
this gallery, my visit to the Tortoise Reserve, run by a Galapagueño
raised by refugee American parents. Apparently, phones arrived en-masse
in the Galapagos in 1992-93. Ahh, the olden days.. before all the pesky tourists.
Reminiscing of days past, I spent a night at the Reserve in the highlands,
discovering that the bigger they are, the louder tortoises snore.
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