Santa Cruz Island and Daphne Major, 9/18/2024, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
This morning, National Geographic Endeavour II anchored at the northwestern coast of Santa Cruz Island. During the morning, our guests explored a Galapagos dry forest in search of Palo Santo trees, giant Galapagos prickly pear cactus, and Galapagos land iguanas.
In the afternoon, we explored Borrero Bay, which is a mangrove ecosystem where some of the guests kayaked, and others went on Zodiac rides.
Salvador Cazar studied biology at the Universidad Nacional Del Sur, Bahía Blanca, in Argentina and at the Catholic University of Ecuador. Between 1988 and 1994, Salvador worked as a naturalist and tour leader for several national and international to...
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The sun had barely risen when we anchored in Punta Cormorant, right next to the striking geological formation of Devil's Crown. Our early morning hike began with playful sea lions greeting us at the shore. This site is famous for its large brackish lagoon, home to many flamingos. We were lucky to spot a few, as they frequently move around the archipelago, and it’s never certain where they’ll be. The island’s landscape was transforming into a lush paradise, with rain bringing life to the dormant palo santo trees. The dry desert scenery was gradually being replaced by vibrant greenery. Punta Cormorant is also known for being a sea turtle nesting site, and we saw fresh tracks of turtles that had nested the night before. We snorkeled around Champion Islet, enjoying the vibrant marine life, including plenty of fish and sharks. The calm waters and excellent visibility made for an unforgettable experience. In the afternoon, we kayaked in a tranquil protected area surrounded by sea turtles and sea lions. Our next stop was the famous Post Office Barrel on Floreana Island, where we left postcards and searched for others to hand deliver back home. As the day ended, Floreana gifted us a stunning sunset to cap off our adventure.
The equatorial tropical sun is on the horizon and shines this beautiful morning in Gardner Bay. We are anchored in the turquoise waters surrounded by white sandy beaches where sea lions are basking and the iguanas feed on green algae. We went out to snorkel and swim with the colorful Galapagos marine life. We also walked along the shoreline looking for seabirds, land birds and marine turtles. After having a great morning, our captain motored to the west side of the island to visit Punta Suarez. It is a spot full of wildlife where we walked inland to admire the spectacular scenery and a wide variety of fauna. We found colorful marine iguanas, colonies of sea lions, Nazca boobies, and the famous blue-footed booby just a few feet from us. This was our first full day on our journey exploring this astonishing archipelago called Galapagos.
Our day started with a great breakfast and a visit to Punta Pitt. We visited Punta Pitt where we found red-footed boobies, sea lions, and marine iguanas before our last snorkeling excursion. In the afternoon we visited Cerro Brujo for beach time to close out an amazing week.