Cerro Dragon and Borrero Bay, Santa Cruz Island, 1/22/2025, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
This morning National Geographic Endeavour II was anchored along the northwest coast of Santa Cruz Island. During the morning our guests explored a Galápagos dry forest in search of Palo Santo trees, giant Galápagos prickly pear cactus, and Galápagos land iguanas. In the afternoon we explored Borrero Bay, a mangrove ecosystem where some guests kayaked and others went on Zodiac rides.
Salvador Cazar studied biology at the Universidad Nacional Del Sur, Bahía Blanca, in Argentina and at the Catholic University of Ecuador. Between 1988 and 1994, Salvador worked as a naturalist and tour leader for several national and international to...
Genovesa is considered one of the Galapagos crown jewels, and today it was showing off all of its splendor. Immediately after breakfast we put on our sturdy shoes and set out to explore Prince Philip’s Steps. This area is known for opportunities to observe not only large colonies of nesting Nazca and red-footed boobies, but maybe, just maybe, the short-eared owl which exhibits diurnal behavior on this island. After this walk we got ready for a dip in the Pacific Ocean and snorkeling along the inner coast of this caldera. The afternoon was equally amazing as we disembarked to explore Darwin Bay, along a short and easy trail that was packed with wildlife. Here we observed not only nesting frigatebirds, red-footed boobies, and Nazca boobies, but also a few yellow-crowned night herons. It was another incredible afternoon in the Galapagos Islands.
Today’s expedition on Santa Cruz Island began with a visit to the Tortoise Breeding Center in Puerto Ayora to learn about the efforts to protect and rehabilitate Galápagos giant tortoises. In the afternoon, we ventured into the highlands to see the wild Santa Cruz tortoises in their natural habitat, roaming freely. The day concluded with a visit to the Gemelos Pit Craters and the lush Scalesia Forest. The stunning volcanic craters and vibrant forest provided a perfect end to an educational and adventurous day on the island.
We awoke to a drastic change in scenery as we explored Cerro Dragon, on the northern flank of Santa Cruz Island. As we are entering into the dry season, we started our hike with a dry forest of Opuntia prickly pear cacti and palo santo incense trees. Galapagos cotton plant flowers surrounded us as we headed inland. Galapagos mockingbirds and Galapagos flycatchers sang lyrical songs as we searched for Galapagos land iguanas inland. We found numerous burrows dug by the iguanas, and large male iguanas soaking up the morning equatorial sun along the path. At the summit of Dragon Hill we enjoyed an incredible view of the surrounding islands with National Geographic Endeavour II calmly at anchor. After raising the hook we headed toward Borrero Bay on Northern Santa Cruz, for kayaking and Zodiac exploration along an inlet of red mangroves. Juvenile blacktip sharks and golden cownose rays swam in the surrounding waters; blue-footed boobies were plunge-diving into the waters for their daily sustenance, as a great blue heron tended to its nest in the mangroves. The sun broke through the clouds over Santiago Island as we circumnavigated Daphne Major Island, a fitting end to this enlightening day in the Galapagos Archipelago.
