EPI Trip to the Galapagos: Stories Etched in Shell and Shore
- Ana Beatriz Hernández
- Jun 13
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 25
This is the second post in a three-part series by Ana Beatriz, EPI’s Galapagos Program Coordinator, sharing her first visit to the archipelago with EPI student. In this entry, she shares a touching encounter with Lonesome George and the eye-opening experience of a microplastics survey at Tortuga Bay.
June 8th
“…from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” – Charles Darwin
Places have received names from both the most terrible and the most amazing human beings. I prefer to think about the wonderful ones, and I remember how many places and species around the world are named after naturalists like Alexander von Humboldt.
A person who should be more widely known—and who gives his name to both an extraordinary location and an iconic species—is the Ecuadorian Fausto Llerena, a park ranger who, in 2007, was honored as the official with the longest service in Ecuador’s National Parks system. Forty-three years of his life were dedicated to conservation.
I mention him because the giant tortoise breeding center we visited today carries his name. Also, one of the species of giant tortoises in the Galápagos, Chelonoidis donfaustoi, is named after him.
He had the honorable mission of caring for the world-famous Lonesome George, the last individual of the Chelonoidis abingdonii species, who, over time, became part of his family and a very special friend. In his honor, the high-level facilities we observed today bear his name for every visitor who steps inside.
As soon as we entered, several enclosures contained extremely small tortoises—so small that it’s hard to believe they could grow to the size of the ones we saw a few days ago in El Chato and its surroundings. These tiny tortoises, which could fit in my hand, will, with the love and care of the breeding center staff, eventually grow to over 150 kg and be released on the islands they originally came from. Floreana and Santiago are among the future destinations for these reptile babies.
Could you imagine an aerial cargo of baby tortoises? Actually, this is one of the ways they’re transported. When they are over five years old, they’re delivered to their respective locations by helicopter, contained in mesh carriers. What a way to travel the archipelago!
The Fausto Llerena Tortoise Breeding Center stands beside the Charles Darwin Foundation buildings, both working together for the conservation not only of the tortoises but also of the Galápagos ecosystems. Every step we took led us to new knowledge and awareness. The various educational signs along the path were like having conversations with the forest of Opuntias, bushes, and other species beside us.
Suddenly, Mica, our wonderful ECOS-EPI instructor, instructed us to stop and enter an acclimatization room: “Please, the last one close the door. We need to stay here for two minutes.” Afterwards, she pointed a UV light over our heads: “This light would attract any insect trying to enter the room. We don’t want any insects where HE is.”
In a blink, the whole group understood Mica’s words. In front of our eyes stood a monument to hope and awareness, an unforgettable being, a former Ecuadorian inhabitant known around the world.
Stillness and silence. Curious faces. A lump in the throat, a couple of shy tears consoled by some sips of water. The air felt light, the heart raced. Before us, filling us with respect and solemnity, Lonesome George received us as an ambassador from the past, destined to deliver his message through eternity.
In 1906, three individuals of his species, Chelonoidis abingdonii, were found on Pinta Island. At the time, scientists believed they were the last ones. Sixty-five years later, Lonesome George emerged, igniting hope of reviving the species. In 1972, scientists from around the world joined in the search for a female of his species. Several females from related species also participated in the effort to pass on his genes, but whenever they laid eggs… there were no embryos. Sorrow and frustration clouded the effort, but hope continued to prevail.
Lonesome George became a public figure, not just for Ecuadorians, but for the world. Unlike some public figures we might think of, he brought people together, inspired human creativity and perseverance, and drew the best out of adversity. Thousands of times, his image appeared on television, in newspapers, scientific papers, books, tourism journals, and more, making the concept of extinction a tangible threat. Lonesome George became a voice without a voice, a legend of science.
On June 24, 2012, Mr. Fausto Llerena—George’s loyal companion and caretaker—found him dead in his enclosure. “Natural causes, maybe heart failure.”It was undeniably a sad day, when the salt of thousands of tears mixed with the salt in the ocean breeze around the Galápagos Islands.
Today, we witnessed the enduring strength of this remarkable individual. His saddleback carapace, typical of tortoises inhabiting dry islands, which allows their necks to reach higher for food, shines under the subtle light in the room, and his long neck stands tall, as if he were alive and responding to Mr. Llerena’s visits, just as he did in the past. His legs—once muscular and strong—now stand like columns of exquisite architecture. Today, we were bonded with nature’s history and received a call to action through the power of evidence and emotion.
June 9th
Tortuga Bay is a white-sand paradise that appears after 2.5 km of an equally beautiful path through a forest where Opuntias grow so large their trunks resemble trees. When asked about the origin of the sand’s color, some students were funnily surprised to learn that it’s thanks to fish poop—specifically, parrotfish feces—that the sand beneath their feet looks like this.
This discovery sparked a fascinating conversation about how parrotfish feed on algae growing on coral, biting off pieces of coral in the process, and, since they can't digest it, they excrete it as sand. We also discussed which species we might spot in a few days while snorkeling off Isabela Island.
We were here to conduct a microplastics census. How much plastic could be hiding in such an idyllic place, where the ocean and sky seem to dissolve into one another? As EPI explorers, what should we do? Yes, gather evidence.
Each research team received a bucket, a 25 cm x 25 cm, 5 cm deep wooden plot, a sieve, magnifying glasses, tweezers, and a piece of cloth. Step by step, we followed the protocol:
Step 1. Get water in the bucket. This helps wash the sand through the sieve and makes small plastic pieces float.
Step 2. Bury the 5-cm-deep plot in the sand. This standardizes the sand sample size.
Step 3. Position the sieve over the bucket and hold it, while another team member washes the sand from inside the plot, allowing plastics to be retained.
Step 4. Using the tweezers, collect plastic pieces from the sieve, place them on the cloth, and classify them accordingly.
After about an hour, the group had collected more than 600 microplastic pieces! Looking at the cloth and then at the breathtaking landscape was disconcerting. The white sand, blue skies, and green mangrove line… In all its beauty, nature has no place for our waste. The white of the sand should only be contrasted by the black marine iguanas, Amblyrhynchus cristatus, watching us from a distance, resting on the beach after feeding off underwater rocks. When they gather, they resemble a beachside version of a chessboard.
Yesterday’s visit to the breeding center and today’s microplastics search at Tortuga Bay are powerful moments of reflection. As I walk back to the street, and finches hop from side to side, I think about all the knowledge, advice, and warnings nature places before us—if we are wise enough to observe.
As I’m still processing everything we experienced yesterday, something catches my attention and pulls me from my thoughts: a striated heron Butorides striata, its eyes fixed on me as if to say “Stay away!”, slowly steps aside on the trail, a lava lizard’s (Microlophus albemarlensis) legs and tail hanging from her mouth.
The wilderness in the Galápagos bursts forth everywhere. It not only calls us to action but also fills us with awe and joy for the privilege of experiencing these natural wonders and enriching our memories with their everlasting images.
This second installment from Ana Beatriz captures moments of wonder, reflection, and action in the Galápagos. The last part of this journey is here.
If you're interested in joining an EPI program in the Galapagos, visit this page to learn more: https://www.ecologyproject.org/galapagos-islands-ecology-program
