Santa Cruz, Ecuador - Polarsteps

You remembered that we like boat trips? 🛥️ Here we are again! (With a bit more luxury, better food and enough sources of entertainment!) There is no better way to explore the Galapagos than by boat, so we boarded the Beluga today! 🐳 -the upcoming steps will each highlight a day of the cruise, especially for ourselves to remember ☺️- For the start of the cruise we go high into the highlands. This is where we stand eye to eye for the first time with the famous animal of the islands: it's the giant tortoise 🐢! They used to be almost killed to extinction -💡back in the days they restocked the ships with these reptiles alive lying on their back, as they can survive without food for months - but ever since consumption has been forbidden, the conservation centres have succeeded in repopulating the islands. 💡All areas inhabit different tortoise species, the rocky lava flows or water inbetween the islands made it impossible for the shielded animals to travel these distances. This made them evolve into different species. 🤠 After a visit to the tortoise range, we also brought a visit to the Charles Darwin research centre🧐. We met the mummified remains of lonesome Jorge, the last one of its species. Sadly, no mate was ever found and in 2012 he took his last breath. Thereafter, it was finally time to meet our new home for the upcoming days!🛥️ We have the best cabin on board, windows covering all the outer walls (instead of the portholes on the deck below us). The day ended with beautiful sightings of a Galapagos shark encircling our boat! 🦈

Country Guides:

Ecuador