Santa Cruz Island
Settled in the very heart of the Galápagos archipelago, there is an island that 15,000 people call home. From far away it looks like an inverted soup bowl, flat at the top. When seen from the south, the most striking feature is its wide bay open to the seas, Academy Bay, which holds dozens of ships and yachts of all sorts and sizes. Its northern flanks look arid, barren, as they are on the rain shadow side. The southern hills have several colors delineated by layers, as different vegetation zones are related to different altitudes, reaching its greenest state at twelve hundred feet height. This is also the home island of at least 5,000 tortoises in the wild, a healthy population that roars through the different areas depending on the season. In the rainy season they migrate to the lowlands to breed, in the dry season they go to the higher elevations where it is always lush. What Island am I talking about? Santa Cruz, or Indefatigable, or…there are at least 8 different names for this island in the heart of Galápagos and in the hearts of many. Here we saw tortoises in the wild, we spotted the vermillion flycatcher and we danced with the rhythm of insular music. And again, like last week (and like we intend to do in many weeks, and hopefully many years to come), we had a side program with the teachers of the Island.
This time, our naturalist Carlos Romero went to Tomas de Berlanga School, located in the highlands of Santa Cruz. He shared his knowledge and experience as a naturalist with 25 kids from fourth and sixth grade. Their teacher, Norma, has been one of the 144 teachers we have already had on board Polaris. Right after her week with us, Norma went back to her school to share her fabulous experience with the students. But we wanted to add a bit from the naturalist’s point of view. So Carlos prepared a power point presentation about the natural history of the Islands, comparing the species of the Galápagos with species from the mainland. He came back glowing with joy: “I loved giving this talk. I like sharing with others, especially sharing a conservation message. The kids participated with lots of questions, and enjoyed so much the pictures I showed of animals they have never seen around, because many have never left Santa Cruz. It was such a gratifying experience. I consider that’s one of our missions as naturalist guides as well, to share with the community”. Thanks so much to Carlos for caring and working, as we all should, for the promising future of these islands.
Settled in the very heart of the Galápagos archipelago, there is an island that 15,000 people call home. From far away it looks like an inverted soup bowl, flat at the top. When seen from the south, the most striking feature is its wide bay open to the seas, Academy Bay, which holds dozens of ships and yachts of all sorts and sizes. Its northern flanks look arid, barren, as they are on the rain shadow side. The southern hills have several colors delineated by layers, as different vegetation zones are related to different altitudes, reaching its greenest state at twelve hundred feet height. This is also the home island of at least 5,000 tortoises in the wild, a healthy population that roars through the different areas depending on the season. In the rainy season they migrate to the lowlands to breed, in the dry season they go to the higher elevations where it is always lush. What Island am I talking about? Santa Cruz, or Indefatigable, or…there are at least 8 different names for this island in the heart of Galápagos and in the hearts of many. Here we saw tortoises in the wild, we spotted the vermillion flycatcher and we danced with the rhythm of insular music. And again, like last week (and like we intend to do in many weeks, and hopefully many years to come), we had a side program with the teachers of the Island.
This time, our naturalist Carlos Romero went to Tomas de Berlanga School, located in the highlands of Santa Cruz. He shared his knowledge and experience as a naturalist with 25 kids from fourth and sixth grade. Their teacher, Norma, has been one of the 144 teachers we have already had on board Polaris. Right after her week with us, Norma went back to her school to share her fabulous experience with the students. But we wanted to add a bit from the naturalist’s point of view. So Carlos prepared a power point presentation about the natural history of the Islands, comparing the species of the Galápagos with species from the mainland. He came back glowing with joy: “I loved giving this talk. I like sharing with others, especially sharing a conservation message. The kids participated with lots of questions, and enjoyed so much the pictures I showed of animals they have never seen around, because many have never left Santa Cruz. It was such a gratifying experience. I consider that’s one of our missions as naturalist guides as well, to share with the community”. Thanks so much to Carlos for caring and working, as we all should, for the promising future of these islands.
