Plaza Sur and Santa Fe, 5/2/2024, National Geographic Islander II
Aboard the
National Geographic Islander II
Galápagos
With an early morning hike at Plaza Sur, our day started. We kayaked amongst the volcanos. In the afternoon, we enjoyed an amazing snorkel, a tender ride, and a hike with blue-footed boobies and iguanas on Santa Fe Island. It was a lovely day.
Bernardo, known by his friends and family as Bernie, was born In the Andean city of Quito, located in the highlands of Ecuador. His grandfather, however, moved to the Galapagos Islands in the mid-70s, and worked as one of the first Naturalist Guides,...
Genovesa Island is a sensory delight. In the morning, we spent time on a sandy trail at Darwin Bay, where the absolute best of the Galapagos can be seen. This time of year – April – is extra spectacular with nesting red-footed boobies, great frigatebirds, swallow-tailed gulls with chicks, lava gulls, and sea lions with pups. Snorkeling was our last chance to see the underwater realm of the Galapagos before flying back to civilization tomorrow. Calm waters off the beach allowed for long minutes without human sounds. We were successful in finding a short-eared owl. The owls hunt during the day, adapting to their prey’s diurnal habits. This island is…extraordinary in an already extraordinary place.
During a relaxing pre-breakfast kayak at Chinese Hat, we had a chance to snorkel near sea lions and whitetip reef sharks. We learned about geological features, including cinder cones or tuff cones and a bunch of lava flows from about 200 years ago. We had our lovely Andean lunch in the same area, and then we moved the ship all the way to another side of Santiago Island called Sullivan Bay. We hiked around lava fields and enjoyed insane looks at desert lava flows and the alien landscape that welcomed us to another great day of adventure.
With a very relaxing stroll in the morning at Darwin’s Bay on Genovesa, our day started. A very relaxing snorkel followed at the cove. In the afternoon, we finished a beautiful week on board with a visit to Prince Phillip’s Steps where we relaxed a little bit with an easy hike as well as observed waders and fur sea lions.
