Galapagos is famous for “Lonesome George” the only tortoise left of its kind. You can buy souvenirs everywhere and there is even a clothing line with the same name. But nobody heard about Santiago the tortoise. This day I felt a bit alone so I decided it might be nice to go back to the Charles Darwin Research Station to observe the animals with enough time and also checking out the land iguana I missed last time because I was so impressed by the tortoises. So anyway I went to the place with the male tortoises. It is possible to go in with them and I was sitting next to them to watch. Out of a sudden this one tortoise (later I found out its name is Santiago) came up to me and came very close to my face kissing me… I was surprised. But it was such a magical atmosphere and the tortoise started to rub on my jeans so I touched it carefully. It liked it so much that it stood up on all legs and the neck got longer and longer. I continued rubbing the tortoise and it enjoyed it so much that it even closed its eyes… After 10min another tortoises seemed to become jealous and wanted some rubs as well. It was amazing. I felt so close to these gentle giants and it was a very special moment I just had only for myself!
