Floreana Island, 1/29/2018, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
This island has been very important for human development since the early 18th century, when it first was visited pirates, whalers, explorers and the first settlers from all over the world and mainland of Ecuador.
During those times communication was very limited if at all possible. The only way to communicate was through correspondence taken by whalers when they were on their way home after spending years at sea hunting whales.
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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We woke up to the volcanic landscape of Bartholomew Island dominating the port-side windows. Starboard, Pinnacle Rock and Santiago filled the space between sea and sky. Hikes, Zodiac rides, beachgoers, snorkelers, all got looks at the famous, small Galapagos penguins as well as the other denizens of the area. In the afternoon, the ship repositioned south to another island off the coast of Santiago Island, Sombrero Chino. The objective? Explore the turquoise waters between the two islands. One flotilla of Zodiacs took out deep-water snorkelers, still after the holy grail of underwater penguin sightings. The others chose to explore the tiny beach of white sand tucked into a corner of Sombrero Chino. Before the sunset and the penguins ducked inside their homes for the night, we took the Zodiacs to see them on land once more if we could.
We just cannot have enough of the wonderful Santa Cruz Island. Today, we were on the untouched northern side of the island. We explored the land and water to look for more of these incredible and unique species, which make this archipelago so fantastic. The aquatic experiences today were phenomenal; the number of fish and sea stars were just superb. Meanwhile, on land, we had the opportunity to see the dragons of the islands, the Galapagos land iguanas. It has been more than half of the expedition, and it is exciting to say that there are still things to discover and places to explore.
Today, we arrived at Santa Cruz Island, one of four inhabited islands, that has the largest human population estimated at 25,000 people in Puerto Ayora. The outing allowed us to visit one of the most emblematic private organizations of conservation in Ecuador, the Charles Darwin Research Station. We learned all about the Galapagos Breeding Center Giant Tortoise Program. In the afternoon, we arrived at Manzanillo Reserve and enjoyed the culture and identity of Galapaguenos, learning everything about the farming area of Santa Cruz. We spent the remainder of the afternoon surrounded by the magnificent icons of the Galapagos, the giant land tortoises. Today’s visit was outstanding!
