Today we had our first official full day of exploration. We started our morning with some stretching sessions conducted by our wellness specialist Diana. After we enjoyed a delicious breakfast, we went ashore to visit North Seymour, where we spotted the very popular blue-footed boobies. These seabirds are the most famous of the three different species of boobies that we have in the Galapagos—their great blue coloration really captures people’s attention. At this time of the year, we had the opportunity to witness a few couples doing a courtship display, where the male is desperately showing off his bright blue feet to catch the female’s attention.
Male frigatebirds with their inflated pouch were definitely a fun thing to watch, as well as dozens of newborn baby sea lions, who were all over the intertidal zone playing around, waiting for their mothers to return from fishing. We also got to see the amazing land iguanas, and to learn about all their behaviors and adaptations which allow them to survive in this hostile environment. Marine iguanas, finches, mockingbirds, snakes, lava lizards were also seen on our walk.
In the afternoon during lunchtime, we had a short navigation all the way to Rabida Island. Our guests prepared for the water activities. A few groups went to the beach and the rest went deep water snorkeling, spotting sea turtles, white-tipped sharks, sea lions, blue-footed boobies plunging in the water and huge schools of fish. We finished this great day with a stroll along the red beach of Rabida island, where we spotted a group of six flamingos in the lagoon and many pelicans fishing against a gorgeous sunset. What a wonderful day we had!
