Genovesa Island, 2/15/2018, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
The golden finale of this expedition, on board the National Geographic Islander, around the Galapagos Islands, was to visit the famous Genovesa Island. Here there are thousands of seabirds of several different species. We landed on Genovesa both in the morning and again in the afternoon, looking for boobies, frigates, and petrels.
Enrique was born on San Cristobal Island, which is the political capital of the Galapagos. His parents moved from mainland Ecuador in the 1980’s, as did many other Ecuadorians, in search of better work opportunities.
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Today we arrived at Cerro Dragon on the northwestern side of Santa Cruz Island. The outing allowed us to visit the home of one of the most emblematic creatures of the archipelago, the yellowish, golden Galapagos land iguanas. Later, we went for an amazing snorkeling excursion to enjoy the deep blue waters with playful sea lions and lots of sea stars. In the afternoon, we arrived at Bahia Borrero where we explored the bay by kayaking and paddle boarding, looking for baby sharks and rays in the mangrove forest. Just before sunset we circumnavigated around Daphne Major Islet, a very important study site for the famous Darwin finches. It was another amazing day full of adventure in the Galapagos!
Today National Geographic Endeavour II anchored at Academy Bay on the southeast side of Santa Cruz Island to enjoy a day full of amazing experiences. We started with a visit to the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center at the Charles Darwin Station and National Park Headquarters. Afterwards some of our guests chose to explore the hydroponic farm of the Ochoa family, while others went to El Trapiche, a sugar cane farm of the Cabrera family in the highlands. In the afternoon we enjoyed a walk among the Galapagos giant tortoises along their migration route through the farming area. Afterward, we explored the town of Ayora before returning to the ship. Back on board we enjoyed meeting artisans from the islands, an interesting presentation on conservation work by one of the scientists from the Darwin Station, and a great performance by musicians and dancers. We had such a wonderful time!
We awoke at Floreana Island, the mystery island. We went for an early walk, and it was so worth going there early! We saw a couple of blue-footed boobies performing their famous mating dance, while several Galapagos sea lions were resting at the green sandy beach. After breakfast we anchored by Champion Islet where the water activities took place because this is a great snorkeling area. We saw a big school of colorful, silvery fish, playful Galapagos sea lions, spotted eagle rays, Pacific green sea turtles, and whitetip reef sharks. Our guests on board the glass-bottom boat were delighted! The afternoon brought us to Post Office Bay where kayaking was offered as well as a visit to the famous Post Office Barrel, where postcards were exchanged. It was another great day in paradise!
