Santiago Island, 11/20/2024, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
We are back among the center islands of Galapagos, and the day started with a pre-breakfast Zodiac ride where we had the chance to observe the seabirds of the area in action. We enjoyed several excursions throughout the day, always admiring the beauty of this part of the world.
We finished this wonderful day with a delicious open-air barbecue on the observation deck under the stars.
Paola was born in the major Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil, raised near the ocean and rivers. Since childhood she felt a deep connection with nature, which led her to settle in the Galapagos Archipelago in 1998, on the central island of Santa Cruz...
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We had a day full of wildlife encounters mixed with unique and fun cultural experiences on Santa Cruz Island. From the town of Puerto Ayora, we got on buses to visit El Trapiche Farm. It’s an interactive farm where our guests had the opportunity to learn about the process of sugarcane, cocoa, and coffee production. These activities are displayed by a local family that has followed these traditions for many generations. Our guests took part in these activities by helping to extract sugarcane juice, roasting coffee in an old-fashioned way, and distilling sugarcane liqueur. It was definitely a fun way for our guests to interact with the locals while learning how they make a living from farming. And as an extra bonus, we saw a barn owl sitting on a beam of the interior of the building’s roof. After visiting El Trapiche, our guests had a great time seeing the emblematic giant tortoises roaming freely by Manzanillo Ranch. We saw tortoises wandering around, some inside a mud pond, and even a mating couple. It was a spectacular way to end another day in the Galapagos.
Today was our second full day exploring the islands and we started with a fantastic prebreakfast hike. Punta Cormorant is famous for the presence of a brackish water lagoon where greater flamingos can often be observed. As we hiked a mile inland, we arrived at a beautiful coralline beach, a nesting site for green sea turtles. Some individuals were basking at the shoreline and a couple of turtles were mating not far from the breakers. What a show! We saw boobies diving, sea lions playing, lots of fish, rays, and reef sharks while snorkeling. In the afternoon, we went kayaking among sea turtles and rays. Post Office Bay, well known for a traditional posting system used by early sailors, was the late afternoon activity, finishing off an amazing day on our expedition.
Our first full day spent exploring this enchanted archipelago was filled with surprises. After breakfast, we walked along the beach of Gardner Bay to enjoy a colony of friendly sea lions. We got to know some of the famous birds that Darwin observed during his visit to this island, such as finches and mockingbirds. Afterwards, we practiced snorkeling and enjoyed swimming in the turquoise waters of the bay. In the afternoon, we visited Punta Suarez, one of the most amazing sites in the Galapagos. We saw marine iguanas basking on the rocks, blue-footed boobies, frigates, seagulls, and a great colony of Nazca boobies. The day’s highlight was a few waved albatrosses, a bird that usually migrates at this time of the year. We finished our day of incredible experiences with the tame wildlife and the spectacular scenery of this volcanic archipelago.
