Santa Cruz, 2/20/2024, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
Our day began with a visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station and the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center with some time to walk around town. We then set out to explore the highlands where we had the chance to spot many giant tortoises roaming wild, feeding on the grass.
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,...
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With coffee in hand, I stepped out onto the front balcony of the lounge to see what was going on. We had just entered Darwin’s Bay, dropped anchor, and the juvenile red-footed boobies had found the ship and were flying around us on an inspection tour. The rest of the day continued with discoveries of all kinds. An early morning inversion layer (locally known as “garúa”) had fallen and dampened the environment with much desired drops of fresh water, although the chicks of various species didn’t appear terribly pleased in having wet feathers. On our return, the same bedraggled individuals looked smooth, sleek and dry once the sun had come out. The Galapagos National Park has only two sites for visitors, both spectacular, both well worth a slow walk among the palo santo trees to see the great frigatebirds, red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, Galapagos doves, Darwin’s finches, short-eared owls, and storm petrels. Snorkeling, kayaking, and paddleboarding along the base of the cliffs of Darwin’s Bay followed. There’s nothing quite like this island anywhere in the world.
We split into groups for different excursions this morning. Four groups went up the staircase to the top for the iconic view over the isthmus of Bartholomew Island and Pinnacle Rock. We walked past exposed volcanic formations of all sorts: spatter cones, tuff cones, and lava tubes. Two other groups chose to explore along the coast by Zodiac in hopes of Galapagos penguin sightings. All of us were successful in what we hoped for and even the walkers saw penguins near the dock where we disembarked! Both snorkeling off the beach and deep-water outings along the backside of the island were tremendously productive because we saw it all: penguins and sharks being the top species, and diving blue-footed boobies too! The afternoon had National Geographic Endeavour II anchored not too far south, off the coast of Santiago Island near Sombrero Chino. A dramatically barren, small volcanic cone where another snorkeling outing was offered and late-afternoon Zodiac rides to search yet one more time for penguins. We can never get enough of them!
This week’s expedition has been a special one. Besides exploring the unique wildlife of the Galapagos Islands, our guests were immersed in a photo expedition journey led by National Geographic Photo Expert Lucas Bustamante, Certified Photo Instructor Iván Vásquez, and Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor Pato Maldonado. Today we explored the dry forest of Cerro Dragón in search of opportunities for our guests to practice all the tips and tricks we’ve given them throughout the week, and we succeeded! There were many animals to photograph, from marine iguanas to flamingos and our main subject, the land iguanas (or dragons!). As we walked through the dry forest, we reached the summit where we enjoyed a nice breeze and views of the landscape along with National Geographic Endeavour II anchored just outside the bay. This was a very special opportunity to combine different elements of exploring and interpreting. We had great opportunities to stop to talk about natural history while finding the best angles and perspectives to capture the essence and beauty of the Galapagos.
