North Seymour Islet, Radiba Island, 3/1/2020, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
During the morning of our first full day in the Galapagos we visited North Seymour, a small low lying island just north of the channel that separates it from Baltra Island. Here we walked amongst blue-footed boobies, great and magnificent frigate birds, and our first Galapagos land iguanas.
In the afternoon, we visited Rabida Island where we had our first opportunity to explore the underwater world while snorkeling. We finished our day with a relaxed beach stroll where we spotted wading shore birds and basking Galapagos sea lions.
Ben is a German-Ecuadorian naturalist guide who grew up on San Cristobal, the eastern-most island of the Galápagos Archipelago, home to the political capital of the province.
Enter travel details to receive reports from a single expedition
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Send Daily Expedition Reports to friends and family
*By clicking the submit button, I authorize Lindblad Expeditions to email me; however, I am able to unsubscribe at any time. For more details, see our Privacy Policy.
Please note: All Daily Expedition Reports (DERs) are posted Monday-Friday,
during normal business hours. DERs are written onboard the ship only and do
not apply to land-based portions of expeditions.
Today, during the first day of our expedition in the Galapagos, we visited North Seymour Island. This island is a must see if you visit the archipelago, as it provides home and shelter to many endemic and native species. The highlight of this visitor site is the large colony of nesting frigatebirds which can be observed as you walk along the trail. This morning the island was in all its splendor! We observed countless male frigatebirds with their gular pouches displayed, hoping to find a female frigate with which to breed. As we walked along the trail, we watched several blue-footed booby couples performing their courting rituals and world-famous mating dance to our guests’ delight. Land iguanas were not scarce either. This species inhabits this island and can be observed by the lava rocks, usually looking for vegetation to eat or just peacefully resting under a palo santo tree. Seymour Island didn’t disappoint today, and we can’t wait to explore the rest of the archipelago!
The Santiago Island coast has a green backdrop of large opuntia prickly pear and palo santo trees. As we explore, we encounter Galapagos hawks, brown pelicans, brown noddies, and Nazca boobies along the coast. An invigorating snorkel finishes our morning as we come upon schools of razer surgeon fish, parrot fish, and whitetip reef sharks. In the afternoon, we head to Puerto Egas with a Galapagos croton and palo santo forest that welcomes us as we land on a black sand beach. Hikers encounter Galapagos fur seals and Galapagos sea lions lazing on the coast.
We awoke at sunrise and observed the majestic Bartolomé Island showered by the first sunrays of the morning. Our first hike of the day was invigorating, almost 400 steps to the summit of Bartolomé to appreciate the astonishing beauty of the surroundings. What an amazing view! We saw several parasitic volcanoes, an underwater crater, golden sandy beach, and the many shades of blue of the ocean. On our way back to National Geographic Endeavour II, we took a detour to search for the iconic Galapagos penguins and we found them. Yay! Our afternoon destination was Chinese Hat, a small island surrounded by lava fields, fine white sand, and crystal-clear waters. We went snorkeling and swimming and had more encounters with Galapagos penguins. They’re so fast, they look like they’re flying under the water. The day wouldn’t have been complete without a sunset exploration by Zodiac to explore the coasts of Santiago Island and Chinese Hat. Some friendly sea lions greeted us with their spectacular, playful behavior. Soon, we found ourselves riding back under the light of the sunset with the impressive volcanic background of the Galapagos.