“Tortoises can tell you more about the road than hares.” —Khalil Gibran

When I began building my trip, Terra Sur’s Angelica told me to try to arrive as early as possible so I could stop at El Chato Ranch to see the famed giant tortoises in the wild. Once I got off the ferry on Santa Cruz, my driver met me at the port and off we went. First stop, Los Gemelos-the Twin Craters. I had never heard of these sinkholes but it was pretty cool! There is a short trail that loops around, it only took about 20 minutes. The craters are on opposite sides of the road but the first is the most impressive. You could hear the sounds of the birds and it was quite green. It was also lovely to get out and move after approximately a million hours of airports and planes.

Then headed off to see some tortoises! El Chato is about 45 minutes from Puerto Ayora, the biggest city of the Galapagos Islands and where I would be staying. The weather was quite overcast and humid but, fortunately, the rain subsided when I arrived at the ranch. The entire area is a nature preserve where the giant tortoises roam free-truly, they do not live on the reserve and it varies day to day of how many you will see as the tortoises continue wandering across the island. There is a guide and it cost $10. The group I was in was only about six people and in both English and Spanish. He showed us around but plenty of time to explore on your own-within reason.

There were several tortoises just hanging out in some natural ponds. It can get quite loud as the giant tortoises act like suction cups in the mud, so when they move, it makes some unpleasant noises, ha! It was cool to watch them in their natural habitat. Note, if you get too close, they will LOUDLY growl at you. I did not experience this but someone in my group did. You’re in their home so keep a few feet distance.

We were able to walk around the reserve and able to eat a fresh tangerine from a tree on the site! It was a bit hard as I have Invisalign, awkward to remove in the middle of the bush and I don’t love eating oranges (juice all the way), I just sort of got the juice but still tasty! There is also a small lava tunnel on the site. The ceilings are low and the stairs steep to get in but worth a bit of awkwardness getting down.

Once the tour was over, I went into the main area. You can get snacks or hit the gift shop. They also have some giant tortoise shells you can get in for a photo. Let me tell you, the photo was hard! I can’t say that I felt my best, it was hot, I was sweaty, and had been wearing these closes for 30ish hours but oh so worth the extreme lack of sleep. We then headed out to my hotel. Once I got to town, I did wander a tad to get a quick bit but really just wanted a shower and a good nights sleep. Plus an early morning for snorkeling! Stay tuned…