As we started the second day of our adventure in the Galapagos, we landed on one of the youngest islands of the archipelago with the most active volcanoes, Isabela.
We started our pre-breakfast excursion with a hike, Zodiac ride, and kayak outing, enjoying plenty of wildlife encounters. We saw Galapagos penguins, possibly the cutest seabirds that inhabit these islands. They are the northernmost penguin in the world, making it very special. We also saw the distinct blue-footed boobies which were dive bombing in front of our eyes.
We went snorkeling and it was fantastic, with plentiful wildlife encounters in the clearest waters one can get.
Later, we had a dry landing on the black pahoe-hoe lava flow from Fernandina Island, giving us the impression that we had just arrived on a brand-new island formed in the Pacific Ocean. Marine iguanas are the most common inhabitant of this “out of this world” place. They are the only ocean-going lizard on our planet, making them very unique. Not to be upstaged, a Galapagos hawk, the largest predatory bird in the archipelago, paid its visit to the iguanas and managed to prey on one.
It was a fantastic day for our National Geographic Gemini guests!!
