Darwin Bay, Genovesa Island, 3/9/2025, National Geographic Delfina
Aboard the
National Geographic Delfina
Galápagos
Today we explored one of the jewels of the Galapagos, Genovesa Island. Exploring Prince Philip’s Steps before breakfast was key in order to avoid the heat of the day. We observed hundreds of seabirds, and we even spotted the rare diurnal short-eared owl. In the afternoon we explored the island by kayaking and visited Darwin Bay beach, where we found sea lions and many seabirds nesting.
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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Today was the frosting on the cake for our incredible experience exploring this enchanted archipelago. We started early to explore the coastline of the red beach, and in the brackish water lagoon behind it we witnessed an incredible show — pink flamingos, displaying their courtship to fall in love. That was an amazing experience! Afterward we went snorkeling, and again we witnessed something astonishing: a sea lion feeding on a polarized school of salemas fish. To see the sea lion chasing them was the most beautiful sea-symphony, what a show! We finished our day with a visit to Chinese Hat, where we saw penguins, herons, boobies, and crabs. We relaxed on a very small but impeccable beach, and snorkeled with sharks, sea stars, rays, and eels. To end our day on a high note, a pod of bottlenosed dolphins came to play at the bow of National Geographic Delfina . Great Finale!
Visiting Santa Cruz is always a treat. The main characters of the day were the giant tortoises that we observed at the Breeding Center and the ones we found in the wild in the highlands of Santa Cruz. In addition, we observed many species of land birds and had an immersive experience learning about the local culture of this island.
