Today we explored the north coast of Santiago Island, at Buccaneer’s Cove and Puerto Egas. This central island offers outstanding landscapes with high cliffs and interesting rock formations. Wildlife around this area consists of several seabird species such as blue-footed boobies, brown pelicans, and swallow-tailed gulls. We explored this island by kayaks, Zodiac rides, snorkeling, and walking along a magnificent trail. Today our guests had a blast learning about the natural history and geology of this island. We celebrated the end of this week with a farewell cocktail with Captain Mario Lomas in the lounge of National Geographic Endeavour II.
5/6/2025
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National Geographic Endeavour II
Isabela Island
Navigation brought us to the largest island in the Galapagos Archipelago, Isabela. Holding half of all land mass in the Galapagos, it has a diverse selection of ecosystems that we were able to visit. Urvina Bay was geologically uplifted in the 1950’s, taking two square kilometers of seafloor that was thrust upward, in certain areas up to four meters out of the water. Intertidal species were stranded inland, and we walked upon this area. Galapagos giant tortoises and land iguanas were found on our trail, and we were surrounded by Darwin finches and Galapagos mockingbirds. The afternoon brought us to Tagus Cove where we explored the surrounding waters, encountering Galapagos penguins and Pacific green sea turtles swimming among the kayakers and snorkelers. As the sun dipped below the horizon, adventurous hikers took a fast-paced hike to enjoy an incredible view of Darwin Lake and the immense island of Isabela.
