From the National Geographic Endeavour in Galápagos

North Seymour and Rabida Islands

Early this morning we disembarked on North Seymour Island; this is one of the most beautiful islands in the archipelago and we were not disappointed. We started with an incredible feeding frenzy with blue-footed boobies, brown noddy terns and frigatebirds that were going after a school of small fish – all this while we were standing by the cliffs. There were also some breeding male frigatebirds with their gular sacs fully inflated, as well as juveniles and females; these birds came very close to us so we got a good look at them.

As we headed further inland we could hear the sounds of courting frigates; we also encountered several couples of blue-footed boobies; the male makes its mating call, a long, loud whistle which attracts possible mates. We also encountered one of the most emblematic reptiles in Galápagos, the Galápagos land iguana. We saw some males and a couple of them had a female next to them. On this island, just like on some others, this is the land iguanas’ mating season.

After this incredible walk we returned to our ship and headed towards the island of Rabida. This afternoon we snorkeled from the shore as well as from the Zodiacs in deep waters. There was also the option for the non-snorkelers to go on our glass-bottom boat and in all cases everyone had the same opportunity to observe the underwater realm.

Later on we went for a walk, and were delighted with the presence of three flamingoes. Their bright pink color and the green surroundings made a great contrast with the red-colored lava. We enjoyed very much the colors of the late afternoon; it turned the color of the ocean into gold.