CDRC & the Broccoli Forrest

Today we saw civilization... and we were not very excited for it, but we spent the day on Santa Cruz Island at the Charles Darwin Research Center (CDRC). This is where they have the giant turtle . We got to hang out with some very friendly guys in their pen.... one seemed pretty interested in my hat, but unfortunatly, I was not allowed to touch him so I had to step back. We saw the area where they raise the babies so that they can later be introduced back to their parent´s native islands and have a better chance of survival (so many preditors for the baby turtles). They all had tiny numbers on their shells, so we called it the turtle races!!
After a walk through the town, we boarded our bus and headed up to the highlands of the island where we went turtle hunting!!!! They gave us some very fashionable wellington boots and we tromped through the mud, brush, and turtle poop to look for them. Our guide had told us we would be lucky if we saw one or two in the wild... but lucky us we saw 8!!!!!!! One was hanging out with a group of cows on a local farm... others were bathing in the tiny puddles. These were much more timid than those at the CDRC. If we got too close they pulled into their shells and wouldn´t come out until we had left. There was no one else around and it was such a peaceful under the trees that actually grow up there.
These trees were another reason why we ventured to the highlands... they look like giant broccolies :) Farther up, we got to see huge craters that were formed when huge gas pockets under the ground gave way and the land collapsed. It was breathtaking... very grand canyon like!
After the long day we are back in town and now headed back to the boat.

Side note: my only one pair of shoes are so awesome!!! They are Teva brand, but look more like a Keen. They rock in the water and hiking all over :)