Genovesa Island, 4/13/2018, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
Genovesa, also known as Tower Island, is located in the northeastern realm of the archipelago. The National Geographic Endeavour II was anchored inside the caldera for the entire day, in a bay known as Darwin Bay.
We explored two different sites, Darwin Bay and Prince Phillip steps, and at both sites we got a chance to see large colonies of sea birds, such as great frigatebirds, Nazca boobies, red-footed boobies, and swallow-tailed gulls.
Gilda was born in Ambato, located in the very heart of the Ecuadorian Andes. Since she was a child, she loved animals, often rescuing street cats and dogs. Her parents always made sure there were nature books and plenty of Jacques Cousteau’s videos a...
Located east of the Galapagos Archipelago, San Cristobal is a stunning island thanks to its geology. As it is one of the oldest, winds and waves have taken their toll, carving into sedimentary rocks, leaving beautiful formations and walls. We visited Punta Pitt in the morning, home to one of five colonies of red-footed boobies. They perch on trees and bushes, and their bright-red feet bring extra color to the vegetation. We had a chance to swim and snorkel off the olivine beach. There is nothing better than being accompanied on a swim by a couple of playful Galapagos sea lions. Captain Nathaly Alban repositioned our beautiful ship to Cerro Brujo by midday, and for a little while, we were followed by curious juvenile boobies. In the afternoon, weather conditions were perfect for us to explore the walls of the tuff cone that dominates this site. The beach here is one of the most beautiful in the islands, with its white, coralline sand and turquoise waters. Back on board, we admired a magnificent Galapagos sunset with some wine tasting as we navigated by the iconic Kicker Rock, celebrating the end of another day in this remote paradise.
Today, we explored two islands. In the morning, we hiked along the trail of South Plaza. In the afternoon, we visited Santa Fe Island. At South Plaza, we observed several Galapagos land iguanas, swallow-tailed gulls with their young, and Galapagos sea lions. We admired the beauty around us. We returned aboard and swam from the ship. Later, we navigated toward Santa Fe Island. We had our first opportunity to snorkel from the Zodiacs in a protected bay. We encountered different species of fish and spotted some green sea turtles in the bay. Late in the afternoon, we returned to Santa Fe for a hike along the volcanic terrain to look for Santa Fe land iguanas or to relax with a short walk on a sandy beach that is home to a large colony of Galapagos sea lions.
This was our first full day of expedition, and we started with a beautiful island in the center of the archipelago. North Seymour is a small, flat island where big colonies of blue-footed boobies and frigatebirds can be found nesting. Mating season has already started. Male frigatebirds displayed inflated red gular pouches, and the blue feet of the boobies were visible in the air. Along the trail, we found the famous Galapagos land iguanas. These reptiles are adapted to eating opuntia cactus, and we spotted one of them taking bites. In the afternoon, we visited a beautiful red sand Island. We practiced our first snorkel and enjoyed observing an abundance of colorful fish and feeding marine iguanas. Later in the afternoon, we took a relaxing stroll along the beautiful beach with the last rays of sun making the red sand shine. Flamingos spotted in a lagoon were the golden finale of this amazing day.
