Bartolome and Santa Cruz Islands, 6/8/2024, National Geographic Islander II
Aboard the
National Geographic Islander II
Galápagos
Today we explored Bartolome Island and Dragon Hill on Santa Cruz Island. We enjoyed unique moments, and we spotted Galapagos penguins, sea lions, blue-footed boobies, and land iguanas. We observed a number of sea creatures while snorkeling. We finished the day by stargazing on the sky deck of National Geographic Islander II.
Javier grew up on Santa Cruz island where his grandparents first arrived in the 1940´s. Veritable pioneers, his grandparents settled in the highlands where they found a place to raise their children.
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This morning began with an early hike up to Punta Pitt. The trail was a bit tough, with big boulders along the way, but the view from the top made it all worth it. We had an amazing view of Punta Pitt Beach and our beautiful ship, National Geographic Islander II . On the way, we spotted red-footed boobies nesting in the bushes and saw a few magnificent frigatebirds flying overhead. After the hike, we returned to the ship for breakfast and got ready for our last snorkeling activity. We explored the waters around Punta Pitt Beach and enjoyed swimming with lots of colorful reef fish. In the afternoon, we visited the white sand beach of Cerro Brujo. It was a peaceful place to unwind, and we had some fun jumping in the waves. Our final activity of the day was sailing around León Dormido, a dramatic rock formation where we took some great photos as the sun was setting.
Continuing with our expedition on board National Geographic Islander II , we went for an early stretching session with Wellness Specialist Gicela. It was a beautiful morning on a paradisaic beach with sea lions and stunning scenery. We found a royal tern, a vagrant bird from the Americas rarely seen in Galapagos. We also had the great surprise of finding our sister ship National Geographic Delfina (a luxury catamaran) anchored at the same location. Later, we relocated to Punta Suarez to explore this wonderful site. We had the opportunity to see many unique species, like marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, and the arrival of the waved albatross. These magnificent birds migrate south in December and around April they return to Española Island to find their mates and lay their eggs. It was a great way to end a day full of adventures and wildlife surprises.
Today we visited Floreana, one of the oldest islands in the archipelago. We started the morning with an early visit to the very famous Post Office Bay. Here we continued a fun tradition by leaving behind our postcards with hopes that they reach our loved ones sometime in the future. After breakfast, we went snorkeling near a beautiful rock formation called Champion, where we enjoyed the presence of sea lions, colorful fish, and some sharks! As we had lunch, a pod of bottlenose dolphins swam nearby. We enjoyed observing them jump and race our ship. In the afternoon, we visited Cormorant Point. This area is an active sea turtle nesting site. It has a beautiful brackish water lagoon, where a colony of flamingos is found. It was a spectacular day.
