Genovesa Island, 4/13/2018, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
Genovesa, also known as Tower Island, is located in the northeastern realm of the archipelago. The National Geographic Endeavour II was anchored inside the caldera for the entire day, in a bay known as Darwin Bay.
We explored two different sites, Darwin Bay and Prince Phillip steps, and at both sites we got a chance to see large colonies of sea birds, such as great frigatebirds, Nazca boobies, red-footed boobies, and swallow-tailed gulls.
Gilda was born in Ambato, located in the very heart of the Ecuadorian Andes. Since she was a child, she loved animals, often rescuing street cats and dogs. Her parents always made sure there were nature books and plenty of Jacques Cousteau’s videos a...
Today we had a very interesting day, starting with a visit to the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center to learn about its conservation projects. Later, we drove to the highlands of Santa Cruz into the agricultural zone and visited a small coffee and sugarcane farm, a family run business established in the Galapagos for close to 50 years. In the afternoon, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Manzanillo Ranch and walked among giant tortoises in the wild. Today we had a mixture of experiences, learning about tortoises, conservation, and management and experiencing how the Galapaguenos make their living in such a special and vulnerable world like the islands and sharing their skills with the local community.
We started our day early at Punta Cormorant just as the sun came up. Nearby, the rocky outline of Devil’s Crown stood out in the distance. As we landed, sea lions were waiting on the beach, giving us a lively start to the morning. During our walk, we visited a large brackish lagoon that’s known for attracting flamingos. We were lucky to see a few of them, which can be rare depending on the season. The highlight of the day was snorkeling at Champion Islet. The water was calm and clear, and we saw a wide variety of marine life. Sea lions swam nearby, and we spotted plenty of colorful fish. In the afternoon, we went kayaking in a quiet, protected area, sharing the space with sea turtles and rays. We finished the day at Floreana Island’s Post Office Barrel where we joined the tradition of leaving and/or taking a postcard for hand delivery upon our return home. A beautiful sunset ended the day.
Early in the morning on the first day of our expedition, we were greeted by a pod of dolphins on our way to Rabida Island. Located in the center of the archipelago, Rabida holds an incredible variety of wildlife, including flamingos, oyster catchers, Galapagos doves, lava lizards, and marine iguanas. After breakfast, we departed for our snorkeling outing. Playful Galapagos sea lions, whitetip reef sharks, and many species of fish joined us in the water. It was a wonderful morning! We spent the afternoon visiting Puerto Egas on Santiago Island. We disembarked on a beautiful black-sand beach, and just a few steps into our walk, we were surprised by a very healthy Galapagos land iguana. The bright yellow coloration of the iguana was hard to miss. We finished our walk exploring the stunning landscape of Puerto Egas as the guests took pictures in the scenic grottos found on site.
