taking it easy
the albatros monument at the jetty with the "El mar es nuestra vida" poem of Hugo Andrade Serrano
The station is dedicated to the research
and conservation of the Galapagos ecosystems.
A major part of the funding comes from license fees for the tour operators
who pass the costs to the visiting tourists, a real win-win situation.
It is mandatory for tourists to visit the Station, where
conservation projects are conducted for tortoises and other endangered Galapagos species.
Until his death in 2012 the most
famous inhabitant of the Station was
Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island Tortoise.
We paid the Charles Darwin Research
Station a vist on June 6 2009 and wondered how to reconcile Darwin's "survival of the fittest" with conservation efforts done in a
Station that bears his name.
arrival at the harbour of Puerto Ayora
in the Station they hatch and grow tortoises like this juvenile
meet Lonesome George, he does look lonely allright
this picture says it all
Vermillion Flycatchers are not endangered, and happily live around the Station
this is a tortoise of a different sub-species than Lonesome George, alive and well
a tortoise footsole
love at first sight?
hungry visitors at the local fish market
temptations, temptations
