We spent the day exploring the island of Santa Cruz today. We visited the Charles Darwin Foundation, where we observed the giant tortoise breeding center. This was followed by a visit to a beautiful family-owned ranch to see how farmers live in these islands. We spent the afternoon looking for Santa Cruz giant tortoises in the highlands. We ended the day by enjoying live music and dance performed by local artists on National Geographic Endeavour II.
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 22 Dec 2023
Santa Cruz Island, 12/22/2023, National Geographic Endeavour II
- Aboard the National Geographic Endeavour II
- Galápagos
Javier Carrion, Naturalist
Javier grew up on Santa Cruz island where his grandparents first arrived in the 1940´s. Veritable pioneers, his grandparents settled in the highlands where they found a place to raise their children.
Read MoreShare Report
Exploring Galápagos
VIEW ITINERARYRelated Reports
5/4/2025
Read
National Geographic Endeavour II
North Seymour and Rabida Islands
This was our first full day of expedition, and we started with a beautiful island in the center of the archipelago. North Seymour is a small, flat island where big colonies of blue-footed boobies and frigatebirds can be found nesting. Mating season has already started. Male frigatebirds displayed inflated red gular pouches, and the blue feet of the boobies were visible in the air. Along the trail, we found the famous Galapagos land iguanas. These reptiles are adapted to eating opuntia cactus, and we spotted one of them taking bites. In the afternoon, we visited a beautiful red sand Island. We practiced our first snorkel and enjoyed observing an abundance of colorful fish and feeding marine iguanas. Later in the afternoon, we took a relaxing stroll along the beautiful beach with the last rays of sun making the red sand shine. Flamingos spotted in a lagoon were the golden finale of this amazing day.
5/2/2025
Read
National Geographic Gemini
Sullivan Bay and Bartolome Island
We had a unique and amazing experience today. In the morning, we visited Sullivan Bay, where we walked over lava formations that made us feel like we were traveling back in time. At Bartolome, we enjoyed an amazing sunset hike and were rewarded with one of the most iconic views of the Galapagos Islands. We have had a wonderful expedition aboard National Geographic Gemini.