Gardner Bay and Punta Suarez, Española Island, 6/9/2024, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
Española Island is the oldest of the Galapagos Islands, as it sits on the southeastern end of the archipelago. The islands are of volcanic origin and are formed by the activity of what geologists call a “hot spot”. As the Nazca Plate slides to the southeast over the volcano, it produces an area for new islands to develop. This means that the islands toward the northwest are the youngest and the ones on the opposite end are the oldest.
Salvador Cazar studied biology at the Universidad Nacional Del Sur, Bahía Blanca, in Argentina and at the Catholic University of Ecuador. Between 1988 and 1994, Salvador worked as a naturalist and tour leader for several national and international to...
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Today we awoke to the announcement that there were common dolphins near our ship. After breakfast, we went ashore to explore Fernandina Island, the youngest island in the archipelago and home to one of the largest aggregations of Galapagos marine iguanas. Following a great hike, we returned aboard and then went snorkeling with marine iguanas, penguins, and green sea turtles. In the afternoon, we explored the coast of Isabela Island and encountered Galapagos penguins, Galapagos flightless cormorants, and sea turtles. Later, we crossed the equatorial line while enjoying a great sunset.
We started our first full day of exploration with a wonderful sunrise and perfect weather conditions. In the morning we went ashore to stroll along the trail of North Seymour, and with every step we found a different animal. First we saw the swallow-tailed gulls nesting, then sea lions, marine iguanas, land iguanas, and many frigatebirds nesting on the trees. Some male frigatebirds were displaying their ritual to attract the females, which consists of inflating their red gular sacs, then spreading and shaking their wings while making some rattling sounds. In the afternoon we had a great time snorkeling at Rábida Island, and later walking along an astonishing red beach with colonies of sea lions. Behind the shoreline we saw a flock of pinkish flamingoes nesting at the edge of a brackish water lagoon, while others were feeding on mollusks and microscopic shrimp. The sunset on the horizon was the icing on the cake for such a spectacular day of fun in the paradisiacal Galapagos.
What a great day we enjoyed at Genovesa Island. The day was full of activities, from an easy walk at Darwin’s Bay beach to a hike at Prince Phillip’s steps, where we observed the beautiful red-footed boobies. There were several male great frigatebirds displaying their gorgeous gular sack — the mating season is starting! We observed swallow-tailed gulls, and Nazca boobies taking care of their chicks. Galapagos sea lions were resting on the white sand, while Galapagos fur seals rested at the rocky areas. Snorkeling was awesome today, with many colorful fish, and kayaking in the calm waters of the caldera was a great option too! Genovesa is a dream come true!
