Santa Cruz Island, 3/5/2024, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
Santa Cruz Island is the second largest inhabited island in the Galapagos Archipelago. Our day was filled with excitement as we visited the Breeding Center for Galapagos Giant Tortoises and observed the local farming practices, gaining insight into the island's culture.
In the afternoon we had the pleasure of searching for wild Galapagos giant tortoises under the beautiful, sunny, and warm weather.
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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Today we explored the central part of Isabela Island, surrounded by active volcanoes. We visited Urbina Bay on the slopes of Alcedo Volcano during the morning and in the afternoon, the beautiful bay of Tagus Cove below Darwin Volcano. They are both very interesting places on the island, marked by the amazing productivity in this part of the ocean, which becomes a very important source of food for the marine life we find here.
This morning, we visited Espinosa Point located on the northeast side of Fernandina Island. We walked along the coastline to enjoy the volcanic landscape and the Galapagos marine iguanas piled one on top of the other. Some of us found quite a few Galapagos snakes looking to prey on the iguana babies exiting their nests. Flightless cormorants courting, Galapagos sea lions nursing, and hawks mating made it a perfect and beautiful morning excursion. In the afternoon, National Geographic Endeavour II repositioned on the south of the same island to see the lava flows reach the ocean. Meanwhile, we enjoyed the wine tasting on the sun deck as the sun set. It was simply amazing!
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!
