The giant tortoise, nibbling slowly on neon blades of grass in front of me, is hardly disrupted by my presence or the constant snap of my camera for that matter. Seems this 800-pound guy is used to being the star of the show. I mean who doesn’t drop by to see these famous reptiles during a trip to the Galápagos? It’s almost mandatory.
Nevertheless, when I planned my recent trip to the Galápagos with Ecoventura, a family-owned nature cruise company, I double checked to make sure it was included.
It was. And so here I am. In a field filled with delicate purple shrubs, carved-out foot trails and mud galore.
I can spot at least a dozen tortoises here and there. And, my guide Ivan tells me there are approximately 25,000 of them roaming around the 13 islands that make up the Galápagos archipelago.
Suddenly my new friend lifts one of his gargantuan front legs. Snap, snap. Another cameo photo op. Then, he stretches his wrinkly neck out to grab another tasty blade of grass. You guessed it. Snap, snap again.
I’m totally in my element, enjoying every facet that surrounds me. It’s quiet, it’s surreal. And who knows, some of the prehistoric creatures could have actually come face to face with Charles Darwin himself back in the mid-1800s. After all, they can live up to 150 years.
Beyond the one-on-one tortoise time, Ivan, our guide, also gave a few lucky participants the chance to connect with these guys in yet another way. “Hey, Sarah,” he calls to my sister and points to an empty tortoise shell on exhibit. “You could fit inside here, right?”
She gives him a strange look. “Yeah, um, right,” she quickly says. This convo goes on for a few minutes and she finally gives in. “Okay, I guess I could.” She plops onto the ground in a push up position and shuffles her way backwards into the shell.
And, what do you know? Another prime photo op. And perhaps my sister’s new Halloween getup.
With the tortoise mimicking out of the way, Ivan shifts into a more serious conversation: preservation. The Galapagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation, he explains, are hard at work on captive breeding and rearing projects to ensure the beautiful creatures stick around for a long, long time.
I, for one, am glad about that. What would the Galápagos Islands be without its legendary mascot?
If you go:
You’ll need a licensed guide (the National Park Service requires it). I traveled with Ecoventura, aboard the M/Y Eric (www.econventura.com) and two expert naturalist guides were with us 24/7. Ecoventura is a family-owned company based in Guayaquil, Ecuador, with offices in Quito and Miami. They host 4,000+ visitors each year.