Today we visited my home island, Santa Cruz. Puerto Ayora town is located in the southern part of Santa Cruz Island, and here we find the headquarters of the Galapagos National Park and the famous Charles Darwin Research Station. We used this opportunity to visit the giant tortoise breeding center and learn firsthand about the conservation efforts to protect the Galapagos Archipelago. There was even time for shopping and wandering in the cozy town. In the afternoon, we visited the highlands, stopping first at a local farm, called El Trapiche, then we all enjoyed a great meal served at a restaurant Aquelarre and the rest of the afternoon was spent at the giant tortoise natural reserve. Here our guests had a great time observing the gentle giants in their environment. It was a fantastic day!
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 05 Sep 2019
Santa Cruz Island, 9/5/2019, National Geographic Endeavour II
- Aboard the National Geographic Endeavour II
- Galápagos
Vanessa Gallo, Naturalist
Vanessa Gallo’s grandparents arrived in the Galápagos Islands in 1936, making her the third generation of her family to live and work in this magical archipelago. She left the islands for the capital city of Quito for high school, where she discovere...
Read MoreChristian Saa, Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Christian was born on the island of Isabela in the Galápagos archipelago. He grew up on a farm and had a magical childhood devoid of cars, electricity, telephones—just pure nature and playful sea lions along the beach. At the age of seven, he moved w...
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Exploring Galápagos
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Santiago Island
We began our day with a very active snorkeling excursion, where some of our snorkelers saw several whitetip reef sharks, a few sea lions, and fish of all kinds. We also kayaked and went paddleboarding. The geological formations are impressive here, such as the world-famous praying monk that captured our attention while on a Zodiac ride. If that wasn’t enough, we had a few rounds of glass bottom boat rides, a fabulous tool that allows us to have a clear view of the fish, and especially those sharks. Soon after lunch, we had an adventurous wet landing on Puerto Egas, with its black sandy beach that we had all to ourselves. We walked along the shore and intertidal pools of Santiago with sightings of marine iguanas, sea lions, shore birds, and Galapagos fur seals. After cocktail hour and a fun recap, we enjoyed a barbeque dinner on the top deck.
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Isabela Island
Isabela is the largest island in Galapagos and today we had the opportunity to explore Elizabeth Bay and Punta Moreno. These two visitor sites are very close but very different from one another. Elizabeth Bay is covered with black lava and a mangrove forest, which becomes a perfect shelter for many species. The bay is home to flamingos, brown pelicans, and white-cheeked pintail ducks. This combination is a good reflection of the colonization of flora and fauna of the Galapagos.