Santa Cruz Island, 7/18/2024, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
National Geographic Endeavour II anchored in Academy Bay very early this morning, and after breakfast, we headed ashore to stay all day long on this island.
We went to The Giant Tortoises Breeding Center to learn all about their history as well as the efforts to breed this emblematic species from extinction. We also went to a couple of local farms that cultivate different crops. Many of the products grown locally here are consumed on board our ship.
After lunch, we explored a farm that Galapagos giant tortoises walk through every year looking for lush vegetation and fresh water.
Gilda was born in Ambato, located in the very heart of the Ecuadorian Andes. Since she was a child, she loved animals, often rescuing street cats and dogs. Her parents always made sure there were nature books and plenty of Jacques Cousteau’s videos a...
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On our first day in the Galapagos, we visited the small island of South Plaza. With only a tenth of a mile, this beautiful place is a world in itself. A large colony of the land iguanas were feeding on the endemic variety of Opuntia cacti that inhabits this destination. A seabird colony was nesting nearby with different species settling right next to each other. Among them were the gorgeous swallow-tailed gull, unique for its behavior of feeding at night. Snorkeling was a fantastic experience on Santa Fe Island. We had sea lion pups and colorful fish join us. For the second part of the afternoon, we enjoyed a great hike through a forest of the giant Opuntia cacti which is endemic to this island. Lots of land birds tagged along, including finches, mockingbirds, and Galapagos doves, all amazing and curious. It was a great day in the Galapagos Islands on board National Geographic Gemini !
On our last full day of our expedition on board National Geographic Gemini , we explored Bartholomew Island and Sullivan Bay on Santiago Island. We started early in the morning with a hike along the young lava flows of Sullivan Bay where we came across different kinds of lava, including the ropy pahoehoe and the irregular broken aa lava. After exploring this surreal landscape of black basaltic lava, we enjoyed some time on the beach while some of our Global Explorers took Zodiac driving lessons. Later in the afternoon, we had our last snorkeling excursion and Zodiac rides around the coastline of Bartholomew where astonishing geological formations were the perfect backdrop for unique wildlife, including colorful fish, sea lions, penguins, Sally Lightfoot crabs, sea turtles, brown pelicans, and blue-footed boobies. At the end of the day, we joined together with our guests, captain, and crew to give a toast to a fantastic week, and we enjoyed our photo slideshow for which all our guests contributed amazing images. The best reward after this incredible week was a wonderful feeling of friendship and shared excitement about all that we have shared in the Galapagos and the willingness to keep exploring and learning about unique places like this.
We sailed across the equator from the southern hemisphere to the northern to find Genovesa Island. We navigated through a channel of a broken volcano caldera to our anchorage inside it. Once here, she revealed its true magic; it is home to at least a million birds, mainly seabirds. This island is also home to some land birds, like mockingbirds, doves, the day-hunting short-eared owl, and Darwin’s finches. We enjoyed hiking at Prince Phillip’s Steps and Darwin Bay where hundreds of frigatebirds nest along with Nazca boobies, red-footed boobies, and swallow-tailed gulls. Kayaking and snorkeling also added to our adventure in this wonderful little world.
