Day 4: Fausto Lorena Tortoise Breeding Center & El Chato Reserve in Santa Cruz

Happy 4th from Galapagos!  It was a day of tortoises and t-shirts as we visited “Fausto Lorena” Tortoise Breeding Center in the morning and El Chato reserve in the afternoon.  Between our educational visits, we had an opportunity to explore downtown Santa Cruz.  We used the two hours to visit the owner of Morning Glory and shop for t-shirts. 

This morning we visited “Fausto Llerena” Tortoise Breeding Center in Puerto Ayora, where giant tortoises are bred in captivity. This is home to tortoises ranging from 3-inches (new hatchlings) to 4-feet long adults. Subspecies of the giant tortoises interact with one another, and many of the older tortoises are accustomed to humans stretching out their heads for a photo opportunity. The babies are kept until they are about four years-old and strong enough to survive on their own.

We had lunch at Rancho Fortiz, which offered a peaceful retreat where, you guessed it, tortoises roamed freely among the orange and grapefruit trees. We enjoyed a tasty lunch of beef, bbq chicken, and fish. 

The afternoon brought us to El Chato reserve, which is divided into two areas: Caseta and Chato. The trail begins at Santa Rosa (13.7 miles / 22 km) from Puerto Ayora, with the Caseta route being the most challenging. The reserve allowed us to observe giant tortoises in the wild. And, although it is typically a good place to spot short-eared owls, we were not so lucky today. We were able to spot Darwin's finches, yellow warblers, Galapagos rails and paint-billed crakes.  In the guest area, we had fun posing in empty turtle shells.