Today on board National Geographic Endeavour II we arrived at the north side of Baltra in the center of the Galapagos archipelago. We awoke at North Seymour, a small 1.7 square km uplifted landmass. So on this first full day of our expedition we visited an area considered “the island of the birds.”
As soon as we finished breakfast, the first activities of the day started on the land. We went for a remarkable hike on North Seymour; despite being one of the smallest islands of the archipelago, it was full of wildlife. The highlight of the morning was finding the different species of marine birds nesting in the area: frigates and blue-footed boobies. This outing also allowed us to observe one of the most emblematic creatures of the archipelago, the Galapagos land iguana (Conolophus subcristatus). We encountered several of these golden-yellow reptiles at one of the visitor sites where the Galapagos National Park has made efforts to control the number of introduced species.
After our incredible walk on North Seymour we smoothly navigated west to Rabida Island. We had a delicious lunch at which our culinary team proudly presented an array of exquisite colors and flavors for our guests to enjoy. After lunch we started the Global Explorer program with our young travelers.
In the afternoon we visited the beach on Rabida where we had our first snorkeling opportunity for the expedition. At the same time we offered glass-bottom boat rides and deep-water snorkeling. All our groups enjoyed the presence of playful Galapagos sea lions, sea turtles, and a large variety of colorful fish.
After snorkeling we walked along the beach, where we encountered a group of American flamingos nesting by a coastal brackish water lagoon. It was a beautiful end to a day full of special experiences in this paradise, with many memories our guests will take home!
