Our first journey into the Galapagos National Park brought us to Española Island, one of the oldest islands in the archipelago with an incredible diversity of life. Turquoise waters surround the small satellite islands of Española, and we explored a fine coralline sand beach with resident Galapagos sea lions and Española mockingbirds flitting about. While snorkeling, we caught glimpses of Pacific green sea turtles, diamond stingrays, and young Galapagos sea lion pups. It was a great view of the undersea world. During the afternoon, we made a short navigation and arrived at Suarez Point. While hiking, we got close to waved albatrosses, a majestic species that is only found on this island. Numerous albatrosses were seen floating offshore while Nazca boobies lined the southern cliffs of Española. Marine iguanas returned from foraging in the sea, and young sea lions played in the shallows as they awaited the return of their mothers. The sun dipped below the horizon as the last birds returned to their roosts on the coast.
3/27/2024
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National Geographic Endeavour II
Santiago Island
We are having fun exploring the Galapagos Islands. Today we arrived at the center of the archipelago to explore two magical visitor sites, Buccaneer Cove and Puerto Egas. Early in the morning we explored the shoreline in our Zodiacs and we saw many marine turtles mating and blue-footed boobies diving or resting on the rocks. We also saw frigates, pelicans, terns, and more. After breakfast some of our guests went kayaking for a closer encounter with nature. The snorkeling was also spectacular. We saw three different types of sharks, including a hammerhead. We found a school of eagle rays, a wide variety of multicolor reef fish, and a zebra moray. In the afternoon we explored the coastal line of Puerto Egas. This destination is full of wildlife and along our walk we saw red neck lava lizards, finches, land iguanas, mockingbirds, and hawks. At the intertidal zone we found sea lions, and many migratory birds such as plovers, whimbrels, and ruddy turnstones. We had an amazing day!