Today we woke up at Punta Pitt, in the northeastern region of San Cristobal Island. This island, being one of the oldest of the Galapagos, gave us the chance to appreciate and compare the landscape with the youngest island, Fernandina, which we visited four days ago. In the morning, we went for a natural history walk where we could observe the third species of booby that we lives in Galapagos, the red-footed booby. We also saw other species of sea birds such as the frigatebirds and Nazca boobies, showing off their incredible flying abilities using the strong winds that are common at this time of the year. We ended this walk with a refreshing swim from an olivine sandy beach where we could enjoy the last snorkeling of this trip. In the afternoon, we disembarked in one of the most beautiful sandy beaches in Galapagos, Cerro Brujo, where guests enjoyed walking and swimming. We finished our day with a breath-taking navigation around Kicker Rock, where we could also enjoy the last sunset of this amazing week.
10/4/2024
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National Geographic Endeavour II
Genovesa Island
With coffee in hand, I stepped out onto the front balcony of the lounge to see what was going on. We had just entered Darwin’s Bay, dropped anchor, and the juvenile red-footed boobies had found the ship and were flying around us on an inspection tour. The rest of the day continued with discoveries of all kinds. An early morning inversion layer (locally known as “garúa”) had fallen and dampened the environment with much desired drops of fresh water, although the chicks of various species didn’t appear terribly pleased in having wet feathers. On our return, the same bedraggled individuals looked smooth, sleek and dry once the sun had come out. The Galapagos National Park has only two sites for visitors, both spectacular, both well worth a slow walk among the palo santo trees to see the great frigatebirds, red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, Galapagos doves, Darwin’s finches, short-eared owls, and storm petrels. Snorkeling, kayaking, and paddleboarding along the base of the cliffs of Darwin’s Bay followed. There’s nothing quite like this island anywhere in the world.
