Matted sunlight pokes through the clouds as we awaken at our anchorage between Baltra and North Seymour Islands. As we land on this unassuming flat island, we do not expect the abundance of life that we encounter. Due to the central position in the archipelago this island and surrounding waters has an abundance of food for the residents a good percentage of the year. This is one of the few places we can encounter the magnificent and great frigate birds breeding throughout the year with the males using their inflated gular sacs to attract possible mates. As we land we are greeted by land iguanas, frigate birds, marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, and small lava lizards fliting about. All were taken aback by the abundance of life on this small barren island. Navigating into the afternoon, we arrive to Rabida, which in its dark red coloration we find another unique environment. The marine habitat is explored in all its detail with white tipped reef sharks, Pacific green sea turtles, and Galapagos sea lions making their appearance. The sun continues to try to break the overcast as it falls into the horizon over Isabela Island.
4/22/2025
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National Geographic Gemini
Floreana Island
On board National Geographic Gemini , we started our day just after sunrise kayaking along Loberia Bay. It was a very special outing as we had sea lions join us close to our kayaks. There also were baby blacktip reef sharks, spotted eagle rays, and sea turtles. In the afternoon, we snorkeled with sea lions and then we visited Cormorant Point. We encountered more sea lions on the beach, blue-footed boobies along the coast, and flamingos in a lagoon behind the beach. To close Earth Day, we all watched the premiere of the documentary, Sea Lions of The Galapagos, by Disney. Certified Photo Instructor Ivan worked as a field assistant and photographer on the project, which made it a very special and personal event for our guests, especially after experiencing sea lions up close and hearing Ivan’s stories about the shooting of the film.