Santa Cruz , 9/20/2022, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
Our day began with a walk around the Charles Darwin Foundation. We observed the giant tortoise breeding center and had some time to walk around town. We enjoyed a cloudy walk in the highlands, where we spotted many giant tortoises eating and roaming around the area.
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,...
Enter travel details to receive reports from a single expedition
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Send Daily Expedition Reports to friends and family
*By clicking the submit button, I authorize Lindblad Expeditions to email me; however, I am able to unsubscribe at any time. For more details, see our Privacy Policy.
Please note: All Daily Expedition Reports (DERs) are posted Monday-Friday,
during normal business hours. DERs are written onboard the ship only and do
not apply to land-based portions of expeditions.
National Geographic Endeavour II awoke in the western realm of the Galapagos Archipelago. We visited the youngest Island, Fernandina! The single shield volcano is still active, and large fields of basaltic lava are covered by Galapagos marine iguanas, a rather harsh environment that hosts amazing wildlife. From the top predator to the colorful Sally Lightfoot crabs, everyone is trying to survive. In the afternoon we visited Volcano Ecuador and enjoyed a Zodiac ride along its coast, where Nazca boobies were spotted as well as Galapagos fur seals and Galapagos penguins.
Today we explored two small islands full of wildlife and radiant colors. In the morning, we explored North Seymour, a 0.73 sq mi island that hosts a colony of frigatebirds. As soon as we landed, we observed swallow-tailed gulls nesting. These photogenic birds are endemic to the Galapagos. They nest all year on the islands, so it’s quite common to find nests, chicks, and eggs along the rocky shores. We observed land iguanas, which are not native to North Seymour. They were introduced by an American captain named Allan Hancock in the 1930s. Although the island is dry, the iguanas survive and reproduce here today. It was a great day spent exploring the islands!
National Geographic Islander II anchored this morning at Chinese Hat Island, where at sunrise we went to enjoy kayaking and paddleboarding. Meanwhile, some guests chose to relax and stretch on the beautiful white sandy beach. Later, we went to explore the shoreline to look for penguins and to admire the amazing geological features of this area. In the afternoon, we visited the Sullivan Bay lava flow. Definitely an experience we could not skip while visiting Galapagos. It was a walk on a symphony of shapes of recent formations of lava flows on one of the islands where Charles Darwin spent the longest time during his journey back in 1835. This was an amazing day full of wildlife above and under water!
