Our recent ‘blog’ reported the excellent news about the Galapagos Islands, Lonesome George – a tortoise thought of for decades of being the last member of a virtually extinct species, possibly becoming a father – further news has been released regarding the finding of yet more eggs!

Park Wardens at Galapagos National Park have now found a second patch of eight eggs. These eggs are undergoing their incubation period at the Charles Darwin Research Station where conservationists explained…… “most eggs are incubated at a slightly warmer temperature to produce a higher rate of female off-spring (tortoises lack the gender gene and temperature determines length of incubation, which determines gender). This is critical to ensure a faster recovery of the population, currently with a single member – George. The females that have shared George’s home for many years now, belong to the closest species to the Pinta Tortoise”.

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Great news from the Galapagos Islands – their oldest living resident, George the Tortoise is about to become a father! We recently received this press release from the Galapagos National Park.

“The world’s most famous tortoise, and the living symbol of the Galapagos National Park, has taken an important step into saving it’s species from imminent extinction.

A last member of its kind, a male tortoise was found alone on his home island Pinta in the early seventies. Soon brought to the safety of the Charles Darwin Research Station, and named Jorge, or George in English, by the park wardens that took care of him. The word soon spread that Lonesome George was a living extinction unless a female was found for him to reproduce.

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February 2008 – the launch of “La Pinta” the newest yacht in the Galapagos Islands. What an honor to be on the launch of this lovely, luxurious ship as it left Guayaquil. La Pinta started service in the Galapagos in April of this year offering plush, luxury cabins, with all mod cons including ipods – which proved to be the perfect respite after a long day exploring! This yacht operates only on a 7 day cruise but I really would not want to get off any sooner!

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The Land of Contrasts

My last visit to this remarkable country, Ecuador was in May, I decided to concentrate on exploring more of the mainland and uncovering some of this country’s undiscovered secrets.

The highlight of my visit was undoubtedly the markets, which can only be described as an explosion of colour. I can honestly say Ecuador’s flower markets are home to the most amazing roses I have ever seen.

During my visit I was continually impressed with the standard of accommodation available, ranging from large hotel chains through to the smaller locally owned operations ensuring that every visitor is catered for. My personal favourite was the small but ever so charming Hacienda called San Augustin del Callo, boasting incredible views of Cotopaxi Volcano and consisting of just eight rooms; the attention to detail is outstanding as each room is hand-painted with it’s own unique wall mural.

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