Bartolomé and Cerro Dragón, 9/14/2024, National Geographic Islander II
Aboard the
National Geographic Islander II
Galápagos
Today we started our first full day in the Galapagos. Our guests were excited to spot the very popular Galapagos penguin. Besides the geology and the stunning scenery, this island is home to incredible wildlife.
After the hike, we returned to the ship for breakfast before heading out once again to the beach for snorkeling and other fun activities. After an incredible morning, we sailed to Cerro Dragón to observe the stunning Galapagos land iguanas at Dragon Hill. We also spotted shore birds and flamingos. We ended our day with a spectacular sunset. What a great day!
Born and raised in the Galápagos, Roberta Schiess Bahamonde’s grandparents were among the first permanent inhabitants of Santa Cruz Island, arriving from Switzerland in the 1940s. Her mother is also a naturalist guide in the Galápagos, so this is a p...
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Our expedition started on board National Geographic Islander and the things we discovered today were amazing. We visited the most populated island of the Galapagos, Santa Cruz Island, and we learned that in the Galapagos, humans and nature can coexist in harmony. The journey began in the morning as we arrived at El Trapiche, a sugarcane plant built in 1950 and an historical destination owned by Mr. Adriano, one of the first Ecuadorians that came to the island. Our guests learned how moonshine is produced in an artisanal way out of sugarcane juice and also how coffee beans are harvested, dried, and processed in order to produce delicious coffee. We continued our journey toward the highlands of Santa Cruz, to Los Gemelos, two stunning volcanic sinkholes formed by the collapse of volcanic chambers and an area where you can walk through lush vegetation and the unique Scalesia pedunculata forest. The panoramic view was breathtaking. At mid-day we reached our lunch destination, the spectacular Manzanillo Farm. After enjoying a delicious lunch we were ready for the most wonderful adventure, we walked beside Galapagos giant tortoises! Roaming with these fantastic reptiles in their natural habitat offered us the opportunity to take amazing pictures. The best way of ending this incredible day was a visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station and the Galapagos National Park Facilities to learn how the giant tortoise breeding program works and how this endangered species was recovered.
We started early in the morning with a pre-breakfast outing on South Plaza Island. We found many Galapagos land iguanas and sea lions and also learned about the hard conservation work that the national park has done here. We ended the morning with a remarkable kayaking outing to admire the amazing wildlife of the island. In the afternoon, we headed to Santa Fe Island where we went for a deep-water snorkeling excursion to enjoy the endemic marine wildlife, including playful sea lions and Pacific green sea turtles. Afterward, we hiked deep into the island to find the unique Santa Fe land iguana and the Galapagos hawk. It was a very special experience in this Ecuadorian paradise!
Our wonderful day in paradise started when Expedition Leader Jonathan Aguas announced over the PA system, “We are going to leave early because we’ve spotted dolphins!” Off we went in our Zodiacs for an experience of a lifetime, hundreds of bottlenose dolphins surrounded us. This was just the start of an incredible day on San Cristobal Island! We hiked at Punta Pitt and spotted all the species of boobies found in the archipelago: blue-footed, Nazca, and red-footed boobies. The scenery on this eroded tuff cone was breathtaking. The afternoon was spent at one of most beautiful beaches in the world, Cerro Brujo. The white, powdery sand beach is home to a large colony of Galapagos sea lions. Galapagos is a magical place!
