San Cristobal Island, 2/18/2022, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
This island is the closest to South America; therefore, it is considered one of the oldest by geologists. Even though today was our last full day in Galapagos, we still had a few species to see that live on this island only. The degree of endemism in Galapagos is very interesting. It seems like every day we have new species to show our National Geographic Endeavour II guests.
Walter was born in a very small town on the mainland of Ecuador. His first trip to the Galápagos was when he was 12 years old, visiting friends and aunt, who had moved to the islands. From the first moment he saw the Islands, he fell in love with the...
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Today we began our expedition by visiting a very special place: North Seymour Island. This small, flat island is located just north of Baltra. Despite its modest size, the island is a true wildlife hotspot. We walked among colonies of frigatebirds, land iguanas, and blue-footed boobies, enjoying close encounters with these iconic species. In the afternoon, we moved to another remarkable destination. Rabida Island’s unique red coloring comes from the high levels of iron in its volcanic material, which oxidizes and gives the soil and sand a rich, reddish hue. It’s easily one of the most photogenic spots in the archipelago. Here, we enjoyed our first dip in the ocean and snorkeled with fascinating marine creatures. Later, we strolled along the beach, observed flamingos in a coastal lagoon, and ended the day with a breathtaking sunset.
This morning, National Geographic Gemini anchored at Sullivan Bay on the eastern side of Santiago Island where we explored a recent lava flow and snorkeled with penguins from the beach. Afterward, our Global Explorers enjoyed Zodiac driving lessons. In the afternoon, we went back in the water, but this time at Bartolome Island to see whitetip reef sharks, more penguins, and beautiful, tropical rock reef fish. Before sunset, we walked to the summit of the island to get an amazing panoramic view and to learn more about the geological features all along the trail. It was a great way to finish our trip exploring the Galapagos Islands!
Genovesa is one of the most wonderful islands that one can visit while in the Galapagos Archipelago. This island is home to thousands of nesting red-footed boobies and Nazca boobies. As we walked along the trails, we found these birds in large numbers very close to us, so much so that we often had to change our course to avoid them. The island has two visitor sites. During our walk at Prince Phillip’s Steps, we found a variety of land birds and kept our eyes open for the elusive short-eared owl. In Darwin Bay we observed large nesting colonies and yellow-crowned herons were everywhere. It was another spectacular day in the Galapagos!
