圣克鲁斯岛属于科隆群岛中第二大岛，全省最大的城市阿约拉港就座落在此。1959年，厄瓜多尔共和国将该地区所有尚未殖民化的岛屿全部纳入加拉帕戈斯国家公园； 同年并成立查尔斯•达尔文基金会，旨在推动科学研究，确保当地生态环境；1978年，科隆群岛被联合国教科文组织列入《世界自然遗产名录》；1985年，又被评为世界生物圈保护区；1992年，科隆群岛水域被厄瓜多尔政府确认为海洋保护区。国家公园和基金会总部分别设在圣克鲁斯岛。 

      Santa Cruz Island was the second-largest island in the Galapagos and home to Puerto Ayora, the largest town in the islands. In 1959, the Republic of Ecuador declared all the islands, except areas already colonized, as the Galapagos National Park. In the same year, the Charles Darwin Foundation was founded to promote scientific research and ensure the conservation of the Galapagos. Not until 1978, the Galapagos Islands were designated by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage Site and 1985, a World Biosphere Reserve. In 1992, the waters surrounding the Galapagos were declared a marine reserve by the Ecuadorian government. The headquarters of both park and foundation were located here.

      We tromped through the undergrowth of the park in extremely hot and humid conditions. In the region of the Highlands, the lush greenery was a perfect place for animals like giant land tortoises to survive and breed. The land tortoises were varied from island to island in terms of species. The genotype was the same, but the phenotype could be different. The "Galapagos" meant to be the giant tortoise island in Spanish.

      “清风无力屠得热，落日着翅飞上山”。闷热天气里参观加圣克鲁斯岛的拉帕戈斯国家公园，叫我们倍感辛苦。高地一带，郁郁葱葱的原始森林为巨型陆龟──象龟生存和繁衍后代提供了生活保障。科隆群岛素以盛产象龟闻名于世，不过岛与岛之间遗传基因相同的象龟可能因为环境不同而出现不同的表征，西班牙语中“加拉帕戈斯”原本就是“巨龟”的意思。

      We followed the first footprint of a giant tortoise that was estimated 96 years old. It had algae covering its own legs probably from bathing in the water. A yellow warbler flew past as we saw a poison apple tree which was one of the world's most dangerous plants. This tree-like apple was a mortal danger because it contained a very dangerous liquid. If you touched, you would have a rash for a whole month. Spanish moss nicknamed as Old Man's Beard grew upon the bigger trees like air plant in the forest. It was an epiphyte which absorbed nutrients and water from the air and rainfall. We finished marching in the woods with a local fruit buffet on a farm prior to our next activity.

      我们追随的第一只象龟大概有96岁，它腿上缠满了绿藻，估计刚在池塘里洗过澡。这时黄莺从眼前飞过，直奔毒苹果树而去。之所以称它毒苹果树，是因为其果汁有毒，倘若你动到它，定会叫你浑身遍生皮疹，一个月不见消退。绰号叫老头胡子的西班牙苔藓随处可见，像空中飘荡的植物悬浮在大树身上。它属于附生植物，从空气和降雨中吸收养分。从象龟生活的野林子归来，我们在一家农庄稍事休息，先从新鲜入时的水果自助餐上挑些可口的食物犒劳一下自己，然后再继续进行下面的活动项目。

      We continued to have a short and easy hike in the Fausto Llerena Tortoise Center specialized for tortoise's breeding. It was reported that the tortoise center had a long-term program run jointly by the Galapagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation. It began in 1965 to save the giant tortoise population on Pinta Island and was quickly expanded to include other populations, in particular that of Espanola where only 14 individuals remained. As of 2008, more than 4,000 young tortoises from 8 different populations had been repatriated to their island of origin, with nearly 1,500 going back to Espanola. At the Tortoise Center, we observed many tortoises, with their ET necks and faces, from hatchlings to juveniles to large individuals. In general, boys looked cool and girls were hot. The different temperature resulted in the different sexes. Boys tended to be hatched at a low temp of 28.0oC while girls at a high temp of 29.5oC. Obviously, the population between male and female was out of proportion. In order to revive the lost species, the scientists induced more girls than boys.

      接下来，我们来到福斯托•德列雷纳繁殖和饲养中心参观。据报导，该象龟中心长期与加拉帕戈斯国家公园以及查尔斯•达尔文基金会合作，早在1965年，就曾为拯救平塔岛象龟存活而进行定向繁殖和人工饲养，后来很快扩大到其它象龟品种，尤其针对西班牙岛当时仅存的14只象龟。截至到2008年，从8个不同亚种的象龟配对中培育出4,000多只后代，并及时将它们遣送原籍。这么一来，大约1,500只回到了西班牙岛。在象龟中心，我们看到大小不一且长有外星人脖子和面孔的象龟。男孩(冷)酷，女娃(热)辣！就孵化温度而言，摄氏28.0oC低温适于男孩出世，而摄氏29.5oC高温适于女孩降生。象龟世界里，科学家一向重女轻男，性别比例严重失调，其目的在于保障象龟家族千秋万代后继有人。

      The Galapagos National Park on Santa Cruz Island was also home to Lonesome George, the last survivor of the distinct Pinta subspecies from Pinta Island. Unfortunately, he passed away on June 24, 2012. His species were disappeared for good. We passed by a "palace" where he used to live. He had a watering hose, a garden, trees, and visitors like us from all over the world. It was anything a tortoise would want. Several other tortoises were there, but none seemed to have the same luxury as his. Lonesome George tried to mate with 2 other female tortoises from different islands, but two eggs they laid in total were never successful and didn't hatch eventually. He died of possibly natural cause over 100 years old, which was pretty old for his type of species.

      “单身汉乔治”之家座落在圣克鲁斯岛加拉帕戈斯国家公园境内，它是加拉帕戈斯象龟平塔岛亚种中最后一只，遗憾的是，去年2012年6月24日与世长辞，标志着它所代表的物种从地球上彻底消失灭绝。我们特意赶到其“宫殿”参观，冲水龙头、花园绿树，“四时有不谢之花，八节有长青之草”，一年到头还有全世界像我们这样远渡重洋慕名而来的粉丝，任何乌龟王八梦寐以求的东西，在这里都可以化为现实。与它为邻的几只象龟住所却大相径庭，丝毫没有一点奢华。“单身汉乔治”曾试图与其它两位来自外岛的异性象龟交配，虽然先后产过两个龟蛋，但最终未能如愿以偿。它大概寿终正寝，自然老死，年纪超过100岁，应该算作同类中比较长寿的一位。

      As I kept walking another mile, the sun got hotter and hotter. Soon, my vision blurred from droplets of sweat. Finally, I uploaded a truck taxi and zipped off to the Municipal Pier. I wish I sat in a passenger seat, not in the truck's trunk, because there wasn't any seatbelts.

    我头顶烈日，坚持向前挺进一英里路。不大会儿，我汗流满面，视线也变得模糊起来。“黄莺也爱新凉好，飞过青山影里啼”。我赶紧登上出租卡车，风驰电掣般冲回市政码头。嗨！真后悔当初性急没坐进驾驶舱里而蜷在敞篷后备箱上，那里连安全带都没有。

      Here, we happily ended our last shore excursion in the Galapagos. 7-day voyage had changed our vision via fauna, flora and ecological habitat. It helped us to understand evolution of "natural selection" and "survival of the fittest" over the long course of generations.

      到此为止，我们满载喜悦，圆满结束了科隆群岛之旅。七天巡游中，通过观摩动物、植物以及与它们息息相关的生态环境，我们审视大自然的视野发生了改变，对漫长生物进化中“物竞天择适者生存”有了更贴切的理解。

(二O一三年四月六日)