Santa Cruz Island - a long to the beach

First full day, lots and lots to do... we set off bright and early with a visit to the Charles Darwin Research center.
The center is most famous for the successful captive breeding and reintroduction of the giant Galapagos land tortoise through out the islands.
The center has now turned it's attention to the endangered land iguana.

Large photo mosaic of Mr. Origin of a Species himself... 

Slow and plodding, but still exuding a sense of wisdom... tortoises can live to almost 200 years.
During Darwin's original visit in 1835, he took 3 small babies as samples... the last one died in 2006 in Australia at 176 years old.

Chillin with my boy... Chuck D.

At the edge of the research station, there is a perfect reef break and the locals were ripping it up.

A morning of intense science calls for a relaxing walk to the beach... Tortuga beach is about 2 miles out of town and on a Sunday, pretty much had the place to ourselves.

We met up with a few locals...

who let us take a pleasant dip.

Ended the day with a little spelunking in el Mirador lava tunnels which form when the outside of a large lava flow cools and hardens, while the inside runs through. Once the dust settles, there is a long cylindrical tube, excellent for having your mom scramble around.

A natural skylight, offering a small sanctuary from the darkness.