A Taxi Driver is our Guide to the Galapagos Giant Tortoises
The taxi driver arrives in due time to take us for a morning tour into the Galapagos highlands to the ranch El Chato where we hope to get a glimpse of the giant tortoises. Our local host from the White House Galapagos hotel has established contact with an acquaintance, a taxi driver, who will be able to take five passengers in his spacious vehicle to the highlands of Santa Cruz. Finding a taxi for five has not been easy since the rule is that taxis in the Galapagos Islands only take four passengers!
It turns out that the public taxi for five passengers is a white pickup truck, pretty similar to all other white pickup taxis on the island. Maybe it is slightly wider than others, but we are not really sure. At first sight, it seems to be a tight squeeze with the four of us in the rear seat, but when trying it, it is not that inconvenient after all.
I sit in front on the passenger seat next to the driver, who also acts as our tour guide. That is the typical way to get a budget-friendly tour in the Galapagos Islands, provided that you speak some Spanish. You are not dependent on or obliged to take an organised tour – but can perfectly do in on your own! The total fare for the half-day tour is only $40 (excluding the entrance fee to the ranch El Chato, which is only a few dollars), which is way below what the professional tour operators charge in Galapagos. Another significant advantage is that we get our private tour and guide!
Photo: Marcel Langthim / Pixabay
It is not difficult to see the giant Galapagos tortoises on your own in Santa Cruz. The farmers will often let you walk around on their land to look out for the animals, charging just a small amount. Other options to get to the ranches in the highlands are to rent a bike or hike all the way. For a slightly less demanding tour into the Galapagos highlands, there are also daily local buses to Santa Rosa, but from there, you will need to hike the rest of the way.
Photo: Travel In Culture
Our driver appears to be both amiable and talkative. He soon realises that we are eager to get information, and he willingly answers all our questions and explains about the crops, the animals and life in general.
The villages Bellavista and Santa Rosa were established in the humid highlands where the farmers, in addition to raising cattle, set up plantations. We learn that around the two villages, the inhabitants still grow fruits and vegetables like pineapple, papaya, bananas, coconuts, sugar canes, coffee, avocado, oranges, lemons and mandarins. Most of these are today on a small-scale basis, though. Along the way, he points out which farmers grow coffee and where to find a small pineapple plantation.
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The first stop in the highlands is at the twin craters, Los Gemelos, which are actually not real craters caused by impact but so-called sinkholes created from empty, volcanic magma chambers having collapsed over time. Our driver waits in the car while we walk along the edge of the huge craters with breathtakingly beautiful scenery.
The scalesia forest is endemic to the Galapagos Islands | Photo: Travel In Culture
We walk cautiously at an appropriate distance from the rim, continuing into the adjacent lush scalesia forest. The adventurous jungle or cloud forest is a different biome than the vegetation down at Puerto Ayora. Mosses grow on the trees and orchids and kaleidoscopic birds can, with a bit of luck, be spotted, among others vermillion flycatchers. Scalesia is endemic to the Galapagos Islands. However, the scalesia forest is severely endangered. The forest consists of 15 species and six subspecies, and each of the species has adapted to the different vegetation zones on the various islands they grow.
Like the natural adaption of the Darwin finches in the animal world, the scalesia species have in the plant world adapted to the surroundings at the specific locations where they grow. That means the scalesia trees here in Santa Cruz around Los Gemelos are absolutely unique. Once, the scalesia forest covered a considerable part of Santa Cruz Island, but human settlements have left the island with invasive species. Over the years, these have eliminated the scalesia trees nearly all over the island. This happened in particular from the beginning of the 20th century when people from the outside, Americans and Europeans, came to the island to settle in the fertile areas.
Photo: Travel In Culture
Los Gemelos | Photo: Travel In Culture
Only in the region around and inside the craters of Los Gemelos has the scalesia forest been able to survive in the Galapagos Islands – apart from in a few locations far away from civilisation. That is why a programme for the elimination of invasive species has been initiated. The hope is that it will leave room for the scalesia forest to outcompete other species and expand again on Santa Cruz.
The giant tortoises have first priority! | Photo: PublicDomainPictures / Pixabay
We now continue our tour through Santa Rosa and take a longer dirt road leading to a couple of ranches, among others, the ranch El Chato. The driver draws our attention to the first tortoise in the grass at the roadside. Captivated, we watch the giant animal graze in the wilderness and yet another one! They are herbivores and feed on cacti, flowers, grasses, leaves and fruit.
Our local friend explains that the giant tortoises especially thrive on juicy guava fruits, precisely why there is such a large number of them here in the Galapagos highlands around farms like El Chato. They may weigh up to two hundred kilograms (up to 500 pounds). Considering the heavy weight, it is not strange that the solid giants move around slowly on their sturdy legs and lie down for a considerable amount of time during the day. According to our driver, there may be around 4,000 wild giant tortoises in the highlands of Santa Cruz.
The highlight of our Galapagos tour is when we see the giant tortoises at El Chato | Photo: Travel In Culture
As the naturalist Charles Darwin discovered on his voyage on the HMS Beagle from 1831 to 1836, one of the noticeable things was that each of the 13 larger islands of Galapagos had slightly different variations of tortoises. Sadly enough, sailors exploited the plentiful giant tortoises in the years to come. They went onshore and captured vast numbers of them to get a stock of fresh food on board, taking advantage of the ability of the tortoises to survive for a long time without food or water.
Today, only a fraction of the giants remain on the islands, and that is why the work at the Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora plays an important role. It ensures, with a breeding programme, the biodiversity and conservation of the species and has succeeded in bringing the number of Galapagos tortoises back up. All stages, from unhatched eggs and baby tortoises to full-grown giants, can be found there, and they are all eventually released back to the islands.
Photo: Travel In Culture
Our taxi driver greets everyone we pass on the way. Seemingly, he knows a lot of people living and working in the village communities. The number of inhabitants on Santa Cruz Island is only about 20,000, and therefore, the locals have ties to people everywhere on the island. Our companion even has a prompt cup of coffee with an acquaintance while we explore the area around the ranch.
Finally, we find ourselves walking around on the premises of the ranch, El Chato, which our guy takes us to. Here, the giant tortoises roam around in their natural habitat. Soon after passing by the stairs leading down to a local lava tube, we spot the first impressive creature, all by itself in the midst of grass and other vegetation. The giant animal more than meets our expectations! It is huge! Fascinated, we follow its drowsy and sluggish movements and study the patterns of its beautiful shell. As required, we do, though, keep at a certain distance not to disturb. When observing it takes a few steps forward, burdened by its weight, we understand better why these giant tortoises do not move very much around. It glances at us with lazy eyes.
Photo: Travel In Culture
Photo: Travel In Culture
In the beginning, we are thrilled to pieces and marvel every time we locate one of these prehistoric-looking animals around El Chato. We can hardly believe they are walking around just beside us and even being as numerous as they are. Some snooze at the path, and we actually have to make a detour into the vegetation to get around a tortoise lying in the middle of the trail.
Our friend explains that sometimes the locals must remove one of the giants from the road. Because of the heavy weight, it requires more than one man to do so! With a smile, he emphasises that only the Galapagos residents can do it. Visitors are absolutely not allowed to!
Still keeping at a proper distance, we get a glimpse of another absolutely giant tortoise hiding behind some bushes a little bit further away. All of a sudden, it raises its slender and long neck and delivers a hissing sound as if it senses danger.
Photo: Travel In Culture
Continuing through the forest, we find a group of tortoises resting in a muddy pond, seemingly finding it refreshing. Genuinely amazed and fascinated by the loads of giant animals we discover here around El Chato, we all agree that this is definitely the highlight of the day!
While visiting the Galapagos Islands in 1835, Charles Darwin made some remarkable observations. He noticed that the shells of the giant tortoises varied depending on location in the Galapagos Islands.
Photo: Jedediah White / Pixabay
In arid zones, the shape of the shells apparently adapted to the specific food resources available there, whereas in lush areas with other feeding possibilities, the shape seemed to be different. On Pinta Island, he observed that the shells were saddle-shaped. That enabled the tortoises to eat cacti in an environment with few food resources available. At the same time, he suggested that this shape, allowing the tortoise to raise its head, was convenient to fight with other individuals over the scarce food resources.
As an explanation of the different variations of the species around the archipelago, he suggested that species could change over time. His theory was that species had arrived on the islands at some point in time and then developed further, adapting to the local environment. Later, this, together with his numerous other observations and studies, led to his theory of evolution by natural selection.
Read next: Keen on a Local Hotel on Santa Cruz Island and When You Fly into Galapagos and Land on Baltra Island
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‘A Taxi Driver is our Tour Guide to the Galapagos Giant Tortoises’
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