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Galápagos Islands: The Giant Tortoises of Santa Cruz
Wow. Our last day on Galápagos Islands was one I will never forget. After a jam-packed week, I chose to take the morning off to do some souvenir shopping and just generally have some time to myself. A few thoroughly enjoyable hours later I was back at my hotel meeting up with the group to embark on our last excursion. Talk about saving the best for last. A 45 minute bus ride, and several giant tortoise sightings later—even some just randomly crossing the road— we were on the highlands of Santa Cruz ready to visit Rancho El Manzanillo, a giant tortoise reserve where it’s estimated some 3,300 of these gentle…
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Galápagos Islands: Santa Cruz, Part 1
Goodbye Isabela. Hello Santa Cruz. Today we left the Galapagos’ biggest island en route to its fourth and final inhabited one. But not before Isabela put on one more show for us, begging the question do you really want to leave? After a quick, early morning breakfast our group was driven over to the pier to have our bags inspected and loaded onto the water taxi. We then walked across the street to find eight kayaks lined up alongside the beach. Kayaking on Isabela Island It’s true what the say about the early bird getting the worm. Or in this case, the fish. Within minutes of paddling we were surrounded…
