South Plaza and Santa Fé Islands, 2/23/2023, National Geographic Islander II
Aboard the
National Geographic Islander II
Galápagos
On our first full day of this amazing expedition on board National Geographic Islander II, we visited South Plaza, located on the east side of Santa Cruz Island. The island’s arid vegetation is dominated by opuntia cacti and sesuvium. During a one-kilometer walk, guests observed endemic land iguanas and enjoyed a nice view from a 30-meter cliff.
After navigating for an hour and a half, we anchored at Santa Fé Island. Guests enjoyed snorkeling with sea lions, stingrays, and turtles! We concluded the day with a short walk along the island to observe giant cacti and the unique, pale land iguanas that are only found on Santa Fé.
Felipe’s connection with the Galapagos Archipelago dates back to his great grandparents, who came to the islands in the 1930s. The Wittmer family moved to the island of Floreana and were one of the first families to settle in the Galapagos. Felipe’s ...
We started our expedition at Buccaneer Cove early in the morning. We had an amazing opportunity to see a unique geological formation known as the Monk, which resembles a praying monk, alongside another formation known as the Elephant. This provided an excellent opportunity to fully appreciate the dramatic geological landscape of Santiago Island. Our first activity was kayaking early in the morning. We enjoyed the calm ocean while observing seabirds such as pelicans, blue-footed boobies, and brown noddies. We watched the noddies steal some small sardines from a pelican’s beak as it plunged into the water. Later in the morning, we snorkeled along the cliffs of Buccaneer Cove, where we watched several species of Galapagos fish, including Moorish idols, sea cucumbers, and creole-fish, among other charismatic marine creatures living in the Marine Reserve of the Galapagos. In the afternoon, we visited Puerto Egas, known for fur seals, marine iguanas, and land iguanas. Galapagos sea lions swam gracefully along the beach while guests enjoyed snorkeling. Another group went for a hike where they were they saw fur seals swimming by the grotto formations. As the tide was going out, shorebirds actively searched for food in the tidepools. This day was truly special, as it revealed the secret life of creatures found nowhere else on planet Earth.
As we approach the end of a wonderful exploration on board National Geographic Islander II , we visited the mysterious Santiago Island, or James Island as the pirates called it. Early in the morning, we kayaked along Buccaneer Cove’s cliffs and coastline, an anchoring spot for the pirates and whalers who wandered around this island to hide or look for food and water. Today, we just experienced the marine diversity and geologic landscape of the site. At the end of the day, we visited Puerto Egas. Some of our guests enjoyed relaxing on a basaltic eroded beach, and others went for a walk. A trail goes through the arid zone of the island and along the coastline. It was a nice opportunity to explore the intertidal zone.
North Seymour Island was busy this morning with blue-footed boobies courting and incubating eggs, land iguanas still sluggish and trying to warm up for a day of activity, and male frigatebirds hoping to attract the attention of a mate with their balloon-like gular sacs fully inflated. We then set sail for a couple of hours to Rabida Island, where we had our first snorkeling and kayaking session of the trip. The late afternoon was spent enjoying a stroll along the beach where playful sea lions returned from the sea and landed on the beach, captivating our attention. Further along the beach, we turned onto the trail that led to a lagoon and were rewarded with a small flock of flamingos.
