Santa Cruz

 Santa Cruz is one of the populated islands in the Galapagos.  We woke up to a bay full of different kinds of boats, from two NatGeo ships, to a tall master sail boat, to individual sail boats.  We had an early breakfast so we could go on the 7:30 farm tour. 

Once in port we took a small bus to a farm in the highlands.  This farm grows sugar cane, limes, avocados, and pineapples.  They also give a demonstration of the products they make including sugar cane moonshine and candy.  They gave out samples so we were zoomed up on sugar by the time we went on our walking tour.

The fields surrounding the farm were  our next destination.  This is where we would find the Galapagos tortoises sleeping, eating, walking, and yes, having sex.  Nature is wonderful, giving the male tortoise a concave under shell that fits well with the female’s top shell.  This is not a noiseless activity with them making a sound very similar to a mooing cow.  The males have longer tails and are larger than the females.  These creatures can live up to 200 years and never stop growing.  The smoothness of their shells indicates their age although there is no precise way of dating them.

After the tour we opted to return to the boat for lunch since we had a 2:00 p.m. appointment.  Our son had asked early in the trip for a tour of the engine room and also the bridge.  We visited the bridge first with the Captain.  I lost count of the number of screens available to the bridge crew to track everything from the ships in the area to the engines currently being used and everything in between.  At he end we were given a signed map of the Galapagos.

A less requested tour, the engine room was equally interesting.  I’m not an engineer so much of what we were shown went over my head but it was quite apparent that this new ship in the Silver Sea’s fleet was technologically advanced.  The number one threat on a ship is fire and there were systems in place to both isolate it and also extinguish it.  Four engines can be utilized to propel the ship using thrusters and there are stabilizers to keep the ship as stable as possible.  Diesel generators produce the power for the operations of the ship.  The solid waste is collected during the week being compressed to eventually be offloaded and sold as fertilizer.  The waste water is purified and released at sea, never near the shore.  Systems monitor individual cabins and can tell them if lights are on, windows are down, and doors are open.  Ballast water can be transferred from side to side as needed to stabilize the ship.  It was fascinating.

The last several evenings our butler brought caviar to our room for a late afternoon treat before our lecture.  We could have asked for canapés instead.  It’s a very nice touch.

Our lecture this evening was on conservation efforts on the islands.  Some have been more successful than others.  Some invasive species have had to be destroyed, particularly goats, because of the damage they have caused on the islands.  There’s much more work to be done but the movement is in the right direction.

We had been asked to dine with the hospitality director this evening.  He’s in charge of all of the services the guests see from the time they board to the time we disembark.  We were joined by the expedition leader at the last minute.  It was fun getting to talk to them about their lives outside of their work.  One was educated in Germany to be an architect and the other had begun to be trained as a chef when he realized it wasn’t the life he wanted.  He went on to manage private yachts and a golf course.

Tomorrow: Last day of touring