We visited Genovesa Island today. This collapsed caldera is a unique place where thousands of seabirds can be observed at different life stages. We disembarked in the morning for a natural history walk along the beach at Darwin’s Bay, followed by kayaking and snorkeling in the bay. In the afternoon, we explored Prince Philip’s Steps. We finished our last full day in the Galapagos with a toast aboard National Geographic Islander II.
9/5/2024
Read
National Geographic Islander II
South Plaza Islet and Santa Fe Island
This morning, we set foot on South Plaza Islet, a tiny but full of life satellite rock located on the east side of Santa Cruz Island. This place has a large population of yellow land iguanas, a large colony of sea lions, and many other species to observe such as lava lizards, Swallow-tailed gulls, mockingbirds, and a variety of finches. As we walked through the cliffs, we could observe a few red-billed tropic birds and frigatebirds flying. The afternoon offered the first snorkeling of the expedition in the crystal-clear waters of Santa Fe Island. Snorkeling with sea lions can be one of the best experiences our guests can experience in the Galapagos, and today was spectacular. Sea lions were very playful and colorful fish were abundant. Later in the afternoon, we landed at one of the beaches in the bay to go looking for a different species of iguana, the pale land iguana. It was such a treat to find not one or two, but four of them together in the same place. Definitely a great afternoon as well!