Eden Boat Tour Day 8 - Puerto Ayora

Nasty Pirate - Grrr!
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Our last day and the boat is back in Puerto Ayora where we started - we left the boat quite early to visit the Charles Darwin Centre which was set up to preserve the wildlife in the Galapagos Islands and eradicate the introduced species that are affecting the ecosystems of the islands.

We saw the various species of giant tortoise that can be found on the different islands.  Their shell shapes varied due to the vegetation they ate on their native Islands.

Another was called Bill Clinton because he likes to get fruity with every other tortoise

"I did not have sexual relations with that tortoise"
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Clare and I got up close and personal with one called nasty pirate who was so called because of his aggressive nature.  Another was called Bill Clinton because he likes to get fruity with every other tortoise, even the other males...

Lonesome George is supposed to be the highlight here but we only managed to see his backside.  He is the last of his kind and despite human arousal (errrr!)and being offered some hot females he refuses to mate so this type of tortoise will soon be extinct.

Still smiling
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The juvenile tortoise were all housed together and numbered to track their development before being reintroduced to their native islands.

Land Iguanas were also bred here - they always look like they're smiling?!

On the way to check into our hostel we passed pelican bay fish market where the lazy pelicans were getting their daily feed.