Lonesome George

I have fallen in love with a tortoise called Lonesome George here in the Galapagos (Kevin's just a ta bit jealous). George is the last remaining tortoise of Pinta island (but has been brought to the Darwin Center here on Santa Cruz island). Problem is, he just refuses to breed with any tortoise (even though he has 2 cute looking female tortoises in his pen who closely match his genetic makeup). So, when George dies (who is in his 80s), his species will end as well. It's so sad! That said, he's a minor celebrity around the world and a major one here on the islands.



So we are now on Santa Cruz island, where we have been for the last 2 days. It's a great island with some good beaches and most importantly the Charles Darwin center, where it's possible to see rare breeds of tortoises and iguanas. Kevin and I agree that it's as if we walked right into Jurassic Park here. The birds, especially the giant ones, look as if they existed during the time of dinosaurs. But amidst this paradise, we got a shock of reality. We were swimming in this gorgeous gorge yesterday when we noticed a couple of the local boys spray painting graffiti on the rock face! That was pretty depressing. But in a country like Ecuador, where the poverty level is depressingly high, it's not surprising that young boys get bored and do this kind of thing. Otherwise, though, this place is like a wildlife paradise. Since the animals aren't scared of humans, you can get so close and take great pictures without a powerful zoom lens. Pictures to follow a week or so!