We finished a fantastic expedition by visiting the island of Genovesa. Located in the northern part of the archipelago, Genovesa offers a great habitat for seabirds. Here we find the largest colony of red-footed boobies on the planet! I was fortunate to guide guests on a great walk at Darwin Bay, where we observed swallowed-tailed gulls, Nazca boobies, and red-footed boobies. It was awesome to be surrounded by so many birds. The rest of the group went to Prince Philip’s Steps. From the top of the plateau, you get a different perspective of the island. With over a million seabirds, this island is a seabird paradise. Our guests enjoyed a final snorkel along the cliffs of Genovesa, and we deployed our kayaks and paddleboards for a last time! It was a great last day in paradise!
10/3/2024
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National Geographic Endeavour II
Bartholomew Island and Sombrero Chino
We split into groups for different excursions this morning. Four groups went up the staircase to the top for the iconic view over the isthmus of Bartholomew Island and Pinnacle Rock. We walked past exposed volcanic formations of all sorts: spatter cones, tuff cones, and lava tubes. Two other groups chose to explore along the coast by Zodiac in hopes of Galapagos penguin sightings. All of us were successful in what we hoped for and even the walkers saw penguins near the dock where we disembarked! Both snorkeling off the beach and deep-water outings along the backside of the island were tremendously productive because we saw it all: penguins and sharks being the top species, and diving blue-footed boobies too! The afternoon had National Geographic Endeavour II anchored not too far south, off the coast of Santiago Island near Sombrero Chino. A dramatically barren, small volcanic cone where another snorkeling outing was offered and late-afternoon Zodiac rides to search yet one more time for penguins. We can never get enough of them!
