It was a great day of exploration in this fascinating archipelago. We visited the northern side of Santa Cruz. We could clearly notice the difference between the opposite sides of the island. In the morning, we explored the inland area, where Galapagos land iguanas can be found in a dry forest. We found more than a dozen of these beautiful reptiles. For the afternoon, we navigated to Borrero Bay where we could choose to explore the coastline by paddleboards, kayaks or on a Zodiac. We finished our day circumnavigating Daphne Major and then sailed into the sunset towards tomorrow’s destination.
5/29/2025
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National Geographic Gemini
Genovesa Island
Genovesa is considered one of the Galapagos crown jewels, and today it was showing off all of its splendor. Immediately after breakfast we put on our sturdy shoes and set out to explore Prince Philip’s Steps. This area is known for opportunities to observe not only large colonies of nesting Nazca and red-footed boobies, but maybe, just maybe, the short-eared owl which exhibits diurnal behavior on this island. After this walk we got ready for a dip in the Pacific Ocean and snorkeling along the inner coast of this caldera. The afternoon was equally amazing as we disembarked to explore Darwin Bay, along a short and easy trail that was packed with wildlife. Here we observed not only nesting frigatebirds, red-footed boobies, and Nazca boobies, but also a few yellow-crowned night herons. It was another incredible afternoon in the Galapagos Islands.
