Today National Geographic Endeavour II visited one of the most spectacular islands in the archipelago. Santiago Island is one the islands that was visited by Charles Darwin and was possibly his favorite since he spent the longest amount of time here on his five-week-long visit to the Galapagos in 1835. Today we visited three different sites and enjoyed activities ranging from kayaking to snorkeling, starting before breakfast and continuing until sunset.
2/25/2025
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National Geographic Endeavour II
Isabela Island
Today we had a day full of wildlife encounters on Isabela Island. We started early in the morning exploring the coastline of Urbina Bay at the bottom of the slopes of Alcedo Volcano. During this spectacular hike, our guests had their first encounter with giant tortoises in the wild. Unlike on the island of Santa Cruz where we see tortoises while visiting private farms, the giant tortoises of this visitor site had made a long journey all the way down from the volcano, far from any human settlement, to lay their eggs and feed on the lush vegetation. In the afternoon, some of our guests went for a Zodiac ride along the coast of Tagus Cove, a tuff volcanic formation that is home to several species of seabirds. Blue-footed boobies and Galapagos penguins were the main attractions of this exploration. After a successful Zodiac ride before sunset, our Zodiac driver, José, spotted a feeding frenzy. Many blue-footed boobies and brown noddies put on a show for us to close a wonderful day exploring Isabela Island.
