Today was our first full day of exploration and we started in the morning by landing on North Seymour Island. This island has some large colonies of sea birds such as magnificent frigatebirds, great frigatebirds, blue footed boobies, and swallow tailed gulls. As we started to walk along the coast we found some male magnificent frigatebirds with their colorful pouches as well as Galapagos land iguanas and Galapagos sea lions sunbathing on the sand.
As we got to the interior of the island we encountered a couple of blue footed boobies in their courtship ritual and they gave a whole display right in front of us. The male lifted its bill up in the air and made a long whistle sound, after a few moments the female approached him and both checked their future nesting area. Part of their courtship involved some pecking, bill touch and marching. The couple continued like this for several minutes until we left.
At the end of the morning we left North Seymour Island and got snorkeling gear while we headed to the island of Rábida, where we went snorkeling from the beach and in deep waters. During these activities we found different species of fish. Some of our guests encountered a couple of white tipped reef sharks, and Galapagos sea lions in the same area. After our water activities we returned aboard to get prepared and then headed towards the island for a great scenic walk. There we enjoyed the bright red color of the sand, the green vegetation and the deep blue color of the ocean while ground finches, Galapagos mockingbirds and lava lizards were looking for food along the trail.
The day ended with an incredible display of colors while blue footed boobies were actively feeding along the coast and we returned to our ship. What a wonderful day!
