North Seymour & Rabida Islands, 4/28/2019, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
During our first full day of the voyage, the guests of National Geographic Endeavour II explored North Seymour Island, where everybody went on a morning hike to observe and photograph marine birds like frigatebirds and blue-footed boobies. During the afternoon, our guests had the chance to snorkel and hike in Rabida Island.
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...
Matthew grew up on the Gulf of Mexico, where a love of geography, culture and history were instilled at a young age. He studied anthropology at California State University, Chico, and soon began working at the Advanced Laboratory for Visual Anthropol...
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Today we visited North Seymour. This island is home to unique iguanas and different species of marine birds, including the frigates and blue-footed boobies nesting in the area. Our guests enjoyed visiting the small, 1.7 square km uplifted landmass. We took an amazing hike in one of the visitor’s sites. The Galapagos National Park has put a lot of effort into controlling the number of introduced species here. In the afternoon, we went to Rabida Island, where we had our first snorkeling opportunity of the expedition. We enjoyed the presence of sea turtles, a large variety of colorful fish, and a group of playful Galapagos sea lions. After snorkeling, we went on a walk along the beach, where we encountered a group of American flamingos in a coastal brackish water lagoon. It was an amazing first full day spent exploring the Galapagos!
This morning, National Geographic Endeavour II anchored in Darwin Bay, one of the two calderas on Genovesa Island. We explored two different trails of the island: Darwin Bay and Prince Philip’s Steps. We experienced the rainy season this morning and still had a wonderful time. Genovesa Island is home of the largest colony of red-footed boobies in the archipelago, as well as other seabird species. After walking both trails, we snorkeled and kayaked along the cliffs of this large caldera.
The Galapagos never ceases to amaze and today was no exception. We began our morning with a landing at Bartolome Island, where we climbed the iconic boardwalk to the summit. Along the way, we spotted lava lizards basking in the sun and took in the breathtaking views of Pinnacle Rock standing tall against the deep blue water. The highlight of the day came in the afternoon as we explored Chinese Hat, a small cinder cone with striking lava formations. A Zodiac exploration took us along the shoreline where we spotted three Galapagos penguins resting on the lava rocks. These unique seabirds, the only penguins found north of the equator, stood side by side, preening and occasionally glancing towards the water as if contemplating their next dive. Guests also enjoyed snorkeling in the turquoise waters where sea lions twisted playfully and whitetip reef sharks swam through the currents. As the sun dipped below the horizon, we reflected on another extraordinary day in one of the most unique ecosystems on the planet.
