Isabela & Fernandina Island, 4/26/2023, National Geographic Islander II
Aboard the
National Geographic Islander II
Galápagos
We spent the day exploring the western part of the Galapagos Islands. We visited Punta Vicente Roca, on the north side of Isabela Island, and Punta Espinoza on Fernandina Island. On this remarkable day, we observed some of the archipelago’s most iconic species, such as Galapagos penguins, sea lions, and marine iguanas.
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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On the first day of this expedition in the Galapagos Islands, we explored the small islet of South Plaza, located on the eastern side of Santa Cruz Island. This island is home to different species, like Galapagos sea lions, yellow land iguanas, lava lizards, finches, swallow-tailed gulls, and others. The islet also offers a spectacular view, and the nature walk is delightful. In the afternoon, we repositioned National Geographic Islander II to a different island, Santa Fe, also known as Barrington. This place holds one of the largest colonies of sea lions in the archipelago and a unique species of land iguana that can only be found here, the pale land iguana. As you walk through its dry forest, you can also observe a few of the largest prickly pear cactus in Galapagos.
The last full day of our expedition, we sailed all the way to the easternmost island in the archipelago, San Cristobal. We came all the way here to spot the beautiful red-footed boobies. San Cristóbal was the first island where HMS Beagle landed when it arrived in the Galapagos. We started our day with a pre breakfast hike at Punta Pitt. After breakfast we went to the beach and had a chance to swim and snorkel. During lunch, we navigated to Cerro Brujo which is one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world! Here we admired a big colony of sea lions, iguanas, eagle rays, and a stunning view of Kicker Rock. We ended our day circumnavigating this stunning tuff cone formation under a gorgeous rainbow. What a great day we had!
Today was a very special day because we visited Española, considered the oldest island in the Galapagos. This island offers the opportunity to observe several endemics to this island, like the Española mockingbird, Española lava lizard, Española marine iguana, and others. During the morning, we took advantage of the warm day and offered not only kayaking, but a shore landing on a white sandy beach to go snorkeling. During the afternoon, we put on our hiking shoes to explore by foot one of the largest nesting colonies for Nazca boobies on the islands. It was another amazing day surrounded by wildlife!
