Santa Cruz Island, 10/3/2019, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
Today National Geographic Endeavour II arrived early in the morning with the first light of the day to the southern part of Santa Cruz Island, called Academy Bay, in front of the charming town of Puerto Ayora.
Today we spent the whole day focused on the giant tortoises—in the morning we visited the Charles Darwin Research Station and, in the afternoon, the natural reserve El Chato to observe these unique giant reptiles in the wild.
Socrates was raised on Santa Cruz Island located in the heart of Galapagos Archipelago. After a childhood filled with swimming, scuba diving, rock climbing and volunteering in conservation projects, he grew very passionate about the outdoors and the...
Rodrigo Moterani was born in Brazil, where he still lives. After spending his teen years playing with camcorders and VCRs, Rodrigo ended up working in the field of television journalism and video production in his home country. He graduated with a de...
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Today we visited two of the most beautiful islands in the Galapagos Archipelago. In the morning, we went to explore North Seymour to search for sea birds and land iguanas. In the afternoon, we had a blast snorkeling at Rabida Island. We finished the day with a spectacular sunset as we walked along the beach on Rabida.
Today is our last full day in the Galapagos. We are now located above the equator in the northern hemisphere. This is Genovesa Island, a pristine island with more than one million seabirds and home to the red-footed booby and much, much more. In the morning, we landed at a white coralline beach for our last walk among swallow-tailed gulls, red-footed boobies, frigatebirds, sea lions, and the world-famous Darwin finches. Then, we went snorkeling and kayaking along the shoreline. Back onboard for an impressive Ecuadorian lunch, the best culinary cuisine is prepared by our chefs. In the afternoon, we disembark searching for many seabirds like frigate birds and Nazca boobies, but the highlight was finding very illusive short-eared owls. We were lucky to find them. This expedition was also special because we had four new soon-to-be naturalists in training, and we wish them well. Back onboard for our Captain's farewell cocktail and final dinner.
We are ready for another day of adventures in the Galapagos. Before breakfast, Zodiacs take us to Bartolome. This island is considered an open book of geology due to its young age and small size. It contains the hints of colonization of the islands by plants and animals. The views from the summit are majestic and best represent the Galapagos geology. The island’s beach offers great photo ops for wildlife and landscape. It also offers great snorkeling from the beach to see various fish, penguins and sharks. Chinese Hat is another beautiful small island ideal for various activities, like snorkeling with a great variety of fish, sea lions, rays, sea stars, and even penguins. Later in the afternoon, we use Zodiacs to explore the coasts of Santiago and Chinese Hat, both with great opportunities for wildlife and views of the surrounding geology with a clear water channel.