Española Island, 7/25/2021, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
On our first full day exploring the Enchanted Isles, our beautiful ship took us to Española, or Hood Island. Located in the southeastern extreme of the archipelago, this is one of the oldest and most amazing islands. Here, critters have had a longer span of time to evolve into new forms from their ancestors, having established themselves in the area thousands of years ago.
Gaby was born and raised in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Her first job in the Galapagos was on board a 90-passenger cruise ship as the cruise director’s assistant, and she fell under the spell of the Enchanted Isles. She returned to Guayaquil to study at the ...
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Today, we spent a full day on Santa Cruz Island where we immersed ourselves in one of the most important and unique conservation stories in the Galápagos. Our morning began at the Fausto Llerena Giant Tortoise Breeding Center where we witnessed the extraordinary efforts of Galapagos park rangers working to ensure the survival of these iconic reptiles. Inside the rearing pens, baby tortoises were freely exploring their surrounding areas while park rangers carefully measured the growth of the young tortoises, cleaned their enclosures, and explained the delicate process of repatriating these animals back into the wild once they reach a safe size. Just outside the enclosures, a large-billed flycatcher flew from branch to branch in the shade of a poison tree, adding a cheerful note to our visit. In the afternoon, we traveled to the highlands of Santa Cruz where we had the unforgettable opportunity to observe adult giant tortoises roaming freely in their natural habitat. One particularly impressive individual paused just a few feet in front of our group, offering a moment of silent connection. Seeing these majestic creatures in the wild, after witnessing their earliest stages of life this morning, brought the conservation message full circle in the most powerful way.
Today we had our first full day in the western region of the archipelago. In the morning, we enjoyed Tagus Cove, walking inland to get beautiful photos of the landscape, including the famous Darwin’s Lake. We also went kayaking, paddleboarding, and snorkeling along the shoreline to see Galapagos penguins, flightless cormorants, and more. Our visit to Fernandina Island later in the afternoon provided sightings of colonies of marine iguanas on lava flows and sea lions on the sand. Without a doubt, it was one of the highlights of this trip!
Floreana Island welcomed us early in the morning as we landed at Cormorant Point along the northern coast. Some of the deepest human history of the islands is found among the unique flora and fauna found here. This is one of only two islands in the archipelago that has fresh water year round. American flamingos waded in the brackish pond to feed as blue-footed boobies dove for their sustenance along the coast. Galapagos flycatchers flitted about with a very lyrical song and Darwin’s finches were busy in their nesting areas as we walked inland. Guests found the geology interesting as we walked upon a peridot/olivine crystal beach and hiked to a coralline organic sand beach where numerous Pacific green sea turtle tracks were seen from the previous evening. The late afternoon brought us to Post Office Bay. We continued the long-running tradition of taking mail (from a post barrel that has been around since the late 1700s) to be hand delivered back home and leaving post cards for fellow travelers to deliver in the future. The hues of the setting sun broke through the clouds as Captain Mario lifted the “hook” and we continued our journey of exploration into the night.
