Today National Geographic Endeavour II is anchored near Santiago Island. Here our activities begun before breakfast with early natural history morning walk or kayaking around the bay. After a delicious buffet meal, we had the option to do a second round of kayaking, try paddleboarding, or just relax and enjoy the wildlife around us. One of the highlights on these expeditions is the food, and today we had a special Mexican buffet with margaritas! After lunch the ship moved to Puerto Egas were we spent the afternoon at the beach swimming in the waves. After this activity, we enjoyed a walk along the island and had a nice time taking photos and enjoying the scenery views. To end the day, the crew organized a delicious BBQ on the sky deck with music and wine.
3/27/2025
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National Geographic Gemini
Santa Cruz Island
Santa Cruz Island is the largest inhabited island in the archipelago and perhaps the most diverse. The contrast between nature and culture makes it a very interesting and fascinating place. In the morning, we visited the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center and observed the young tortoises that will later be repatriated to their island of origin. As we walked into town, we encountered sea lions intermingling with humans, then we had a great lunch at the Bahia Mar restaurant along the waterfront. We spent the afternoon in the highlands where we visited a local family-run sugarcane plantation. We had the opportunity to taste some of their products such as sugarcane honey, molasses, taffy, and moonshine. This was a very rich experience where our guests learned how people live in the Galapagos and shared a little bit of their daily lives. We finished this interesting day by visiting giant tortoises in their natural habitat as well as a few birds, including mockingbirds, pintail ducks, moorhens, and finches.
