We woke up anchored inside a caldera filled with seawater. Here we visited two destinations where about a million seabirds live and breed. We also snorkeled and kayaked inside the caldera, a unique opportunity in the Galapagos. We crossed the equator and celebrated the moment when the ship went from south to north. These two extraordinary events happened over the course of just one day. Sunset declared the day was over by painting the sky yellow and red. We declared an extraordinary day of expedition.
3/11/2023
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National Geographic Islander II
Genovesa Island
Today, National Geographic Islander II anchored in the bay at Genovesa Island, located in the northeastern corner of the archipelago. Our excursion in the morning was to Darwin Bay Beach, and we found big colonies of nesting red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, and swallow-tailed gulls. After visiting this beautiful bay, we returned to the ship to prepare for snorkeling activities. Some of the guests decided to go kayaking, and others relaxed on the beach. My group snorkeled from a Zodiac by the cliffs of this island. We found hammerhead sharks, various species of reef fish, golden cow rays, turtles, and other great wildlife. This was definitely a wonderful way to finish our time in the water here in the Galapagos. Later in the afternoon, we took a nature walk inland. We found more nesting boobies and mockingbirds. We observed great frigatebird males with their gular pouches inflated to court females. During the second part of the walk, the highlight was a short-eared owl flying around before it seemed to pose for pictures. During sunset, our captain raised a toast to our great time on board together.
