Bartolome and Sombrero Chino , 11/18/2021, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
Today we woke up with the most iconic view in the Galapagos Islands: Pinnacle Rock, Bartolome Island. We started the day with a pre-breakfast hike to the top of Bartolome Island and after a delicious breakfast, we went in the water to look for penguins feeding.
In the afternoon, we visited Sombrero Chino, an islet close to Bartolome Island, also home to Galapagos penguins. We got to swim with the very curious penguins again! We ended this perfect day with a beautiful sunset Zodiac ride around Sombrero Chino.
Most of Gianna´s memories seem to be dreams, made on flawless white sandy beaches with black lava rock contours and gorgeous turquoise ocean waters. Most of it happened while barefoot, in an enchanting place that some people regard as an ideal natur...
Today we woke up at Punta Cormorant, where we disembarked for an early pre-breakfast natural history walk. It was a great morning to appreciate the scenery of Floreana Island and to practice our photography skills while enjoying incredible wildlife along the changing landscape of the trail. We also visited a beach where we were lucky to see Pacific green sea turtle nests, and the tracks of recent hatchlings that had come out of the nest in the past few days. After breakfast, we went for a Zodiac ride along Champion Islet. This was a great opportunity to observe different species of sea birds such as brown noddy terns, frigate birds, and swallow tail gulls. We also had the chance to go deep water snorkeling along the shore of this islet, where sea lions were playing around guests. In the afternoon, some guests decided on kayaking and paddleboarding, while others went to visit Post Office Bay, where we found an opportunity to talk about the human history of the Galapagos. We ended the day at Post Office Beach, where some guests had a chance to walk along the beach while others went for a swim.
Today National Geographic Endeavour II is visiting Espanola Island. Here in this beautiful place we have plenty of activities to do. We started the day with deep water snorkeling on Gardner Islet before heading to Gardner Beach, which is one of the most beautiful beaches in the entire archipelago. After a delicious lunch, naturalist Socrates Tomalá was in the lounge for a photo talk where we learned how to take the best photographs during our hikes here in the Galapagos. Later we hiked on Punta Suarez, an amazing place to photograph sea birds, including the waved albatross and Nazca booby. After a shower back onboard, it was time to head to the lounge for naturalist Javier Carrion’s interesting presentation about adaptive radiation. Then, our expedition leader Juan Carlos gave us information about tomorrow’s activities. We cannot wait to keep exploring this amazing place.
Today is our last day in paradise. We have been traveling and reaching the most distant places in the archipelago, from the youngest to the oldest islands. Certainly, this has been an expedition discovering the magic of the enchanted islands through time. Today we disembark on Punta Pitt; this beach is made of olivine, incredibly soft green sand, which is the result of eroded particles of the hardest crystals and minerals. The sparkling crystals seemed to be the result of a fairy flying around here. It was completely surreal. The place is surrounded by volcanic ash or tuff formations. As we walked up throughout the canyon (created by one volcanic event), we searched for red-footed boobies. These birds are facing the difficult conditions of the season where they patiently take care of the single chick in their nests. We found one fully grown adult with red feet that had to be photographed. Back on the beach, sea lions were playing all around our young Global Explorers, who were snorkeling or building sandcastles. In the afternoon, Cerro Brujo was just the best way to end the trekking on this island. The white coralline sandy beach and the sea lions said goodbye to us in the most relaxing and beautiful way possible.
