‘…so simple, a beginning [of] endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.’-Charles Darwin

On my second fully day in the Galapagos, I had a completely free day (Terra Sur actually scheduled two but I went rogue on the second as you’ll see). My hotel, Coloma, was right near the main road, Charles Darwin, so I did a bit of window shopping on my to visit the Charles Darwin Research Center, where you can find hundreds of the famed Galapagos tortoises and turtles.

Technically it is free to visit the research campus. But if you want to see the tortoise preserve, you have to have a guide and it is $10. I did not realize this until I got to the path to see them but there is a worker and a giant sign saying you can only go escorted. You also do not buy your ticket/guide access here, which does not make a ton of sense but whatever. So I walked back towards where I came. There is a Charles Darwin Foundation building near where I was told I needed a guide, so I went in thinking I could do it there. I couldn’t. However, they did call down to the actual office and sent someone. A Dutch woman did the same thing I did so I felt better (we did the tour together). There were no signs, just a couple stores with people out front trying to get me to buy a ticket from them. I just thought it was a scam as the website said it was free (I may have missed that the tortoises was a separate fee). So, if you are visiting, you need to go to the kiosk. It is right on Charles Darwin next to the cemetery. There you will pay the fee and be escorted by a guide.

The guide showed us around the research compound and then we entered the tortoise habitat. He also shared why there are guides, people tried/did steal the baby tortoises to sell on the black market. So they instituted this policy fairly recently. The guide showed us around the different areas. There are quite a few different enclosures, tortoises are grouped by age and what island they are from/eventually returned to (there are 6 species). They go from tiny babies to full grown, some are 40 years old! The tortoises can live to be 150 years or more so they spend their early life protected and then released into the wild. Females bury their eggs on the beach and researchers take the eggs to hatch. This program has saved the Galapagos tortoise species from extinction. Well, all but one…

Lonesome George was a giant tortoise from Pinta Island, Galapagos and the last of his kind. He died in 2012 at the age of 101ish. With his death, his species of tortoise died with him. Since 2017, his taxidermied body is on display. While it was cool to see the famed ‘Lonesome George,’ it was kind of sad that he would forever be alone in an acrylic box (I’m not the most religious and have no idea about animal spirits, so I might just be overthinking things).

After my morning in amongst the tortoises, I went back to my hotel for a quick nap and then headed to Tortuga Bay! This was about 2 miles from my hotel, very easy to get there and then a lot of stairs. It is a state park (best way to describe), you have to sign in and are told it closes at 6 pm (if you’re not out by 6, you are locked in-I don’t know what happens then). There are two parts to the bay, Tortuga Brava, which is very violent and you cannot swim in (I did see surfer), and Tortuga Mansa, the calm part. You walk along the beach at Brava, wonderful breeze and I did get my feet wet. It then continues to the right where the calmest parts are. There you can snorkel and enjoy the water. I did not snorkel, I brought my gear but got nervous being alone and open water. But the water was so clear you could see a lot of fish just wading along the shore.

There were a lot of critters-iguanas, a heron, different birds, fishes, and a white tipped shark! The shark was pretty small and when it got close to my leg, immediately turned out. Such a cool experience! I just relaxed on the beach before heading back to town. If you follow the path a bit to the left, instead of the right to go to Mansa, you will see the famed lava rocks of Tortuga Bay. There, tons of marine iguanas and some crabs plus stunning views of the pacific ocean.

This hike is also the point where my chacos failed my feet. I did walk about 6 miles but it destroyed them. I had a huge blister on the bottom of my foot and blisters on each side. It was a very uncomfortable. I have since sold them on Poshmark and bought Tevas, so I’ll keep you posted when I bring them to Costa Rica in December.

Overall, an incredible day on Santa Cruz Island. I saw so much but at my own pace and truly just moseyed along. One of my favorite parts of solo travel is just going with the flow and I did!