Octopuses, sea turtles, marine iguanas, waved albatrosses, and sea lions! What a wonderful first day we had in the Galapagos Islands! Today we visited one of the oldest islands of the Galapagos, Española Island. In the morning, we explored the underwater world of Española, and in the afternoon, we visited the waved albatrosses in the only nesting site on the Galapagos. As we walked along Española, we encountered beautiful animals, including sea lions, marine iguanas, and the Española mockingbird. We had a breathtaking day on Española Island, and this is just the beginning of our expedition!
5/6/2025
Read
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.
