Walter Perez, Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
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Daily Expedition
Reports
13 Feb 2020
Plazas Island and Santa Fe, 2/13/2020, National Geographic Islander
Aboard the
National Geographic Islander
Galápagos
Our exploration of the Galapagos islands has led us to Plazas Islet today. We had the opportunity to see our first conolophis cristatus land Iguanasm, and they were all over the place eating opuntia cactus! Others were seen fighting for a bite. Later in the afternoon we visited Santa Fe Island for some kayaking in the beautiful bay surrounded by marine turtles and rays. We then hiked along a trail and spotted our second species of land iguana, the conolophus palidus.
Back on board the activities continued with recaps, and naturalist shared new information about the Galapagos Islands. There is a lot to learn aboard National Geographic Islander!
Ixora was born in the Galapagos Islands, back when the streets were made of sand and gravel. Void of TV and tablets, her childhood friends and pristine natural surroundings made for an inspiring upbringing. She was always drawn to the ocean and her l...
Walter was born in a very small town on the mainland of Ecuador. His first trip to the Galápagos was when he was 12 years old, visiting friends and aunt, who had moved to the islands. From the first moment he saw the Islands, he fell in love with the...
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This was our last full day on the Galapagos Islands, and we visited one of the most beautiful sites to spot seabirds. We landed very early in the morning in Darwin’s Bay. Here, red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, swallow-tailed gulls, and many other seabirds surrounded us. We headed off for snorkeling, kayaking, and paddleboarding with sea lions and manta rays! During the afternoon, we went to Prince Philip’s Steps for a chance to spot the short-eared owl, and guess what? We saw three of them, each closer to us than the other. To end this amazing day, we had a wine tasting at sunset.
We came back to the center of the Galapagos archipelago to see James Island and Chinese Hat. Our goal was to find a few Galapagos penguins. We went on a Zodiac ride along the bay in search of penguins. We found a few of them in the water and one just sunbathing on a very black basaltic rock. It is unique to see penguins right on the equator, an area with fierce sun and warm waters. It only happens here, in Galapagos. We also spotted seabirds, including pelicans and terns. Galapagos hawks suddenly appeared in the air. They are the most majestic birds in the islands, located at the top of the food chain. These incredible raptors became endemic to Galapagos and prefer a diet of marine iguanas and various small creatures, such as lizards, snakes, and seabirds. After the Zodiac expeditions, we returned to our ship and got ready for snorkeling. This experience was spectacular. Our astonished guests were so happy to see penguins swimming nearby. We also observed sharks, multicolored fish, sea urchins, sea stars of many colors and sizes, and Pacific turtles. What a journey in the water. It was a super experience. After our captain lifted anchor to move to the next destination, we gathered on the sundeck to observe the Bainbridge Islets. We observed flamingos in a lagoon. We thought the morning was spectacular, but the frosting on the cake came a few minutes later when expedition leader Jonathan Aguas spotted a few orcas feeding on fish and marine turtles. Wow! What a moment! One of the orcas jumped just alongside the bow of our ship. While they were eating, hundreds of shearwaters and frigates showed up to enjoy the leftovers. Yummy! A few frigates even competed for food up in the air! An amazing sight! In the afternoon, we anchored in Sullivan Bay near Bartolome Island. This is a pahoehoe lava field full of nature’s art. It is black everywhere and devoid of life. It occurred just two hundred years ago. The area looks how our planet might have looked at the beginning of its formation. So dramatic, inhospitable, and desertic. We walked for couple of hours to appreciate all the formations and rocks. Finally, we spotted more penguins on the rocks and many sea lions. We also observed Pinnacle Rock, an iconic formation of the islands. Our day was memorable! Incredible! Another day in paradise.
Today was a wonderful day in the Galapagos Islands. We started early morning so we could enjoy the wildlife activity. After a delicious breakfast, we boarded the Zodiacs. Our first landing spot was a very small islet with many surprises. Yellow land iguanas were waiting for us at the landing area. We enjoyed discussing the habitat, behaviors, and interesting facts about the incredible reptiles, and we learned about their ecology. Swallow-tailed gulls were another highlight this morning. We spotted many breeding couples and enjoyed their friendly and tame behavior. We also observed sea lions and tropicbirds on our morning walk, and we enjoyed their sounds and colors. After our walk, we came back to the ship and set sail to a new island, Santa Fe. Our guests explored the island by kayak, and they also enjoyed the opportunity to snorkel. We observed many different species, including blue-footed boobies and playful sea lions, the stars of the show as they played in the water. For the rest of the afternoon, we went exploring by foot on a hike that took us through a prickly pear cactus and palo santo tree forest. Our goal was to find one of the unique species on this island: the Santa Fe land iguana. This species only lives here and is seen nowhere else in the world. The experience was complete after we saw their incredible feeding behavior. They mainly eat cactus on this island. We also observed a big colony of sea lions. They greeted us right at our landing! Finally, fast-moving lava lizards and even a Galapagos hawk were added to our list of wonders today!
