Floreana Island, 11/10/2024, National Geographic Islander II
Aboard the
National Geographic Islander II
Galápagos
We spent the day on Floreana Island, one of the central islands of the Galapagos. In the morning, we visited Post Office Bay followed by impressive snorkeling at Champion Islet.
In the afternoon, we visited Cormorant Point, a great place where we observed sea turtles and several species of seabirds, including blue-footed boobies.
Javier grew up on Santa Cruz island where his grandparents first arrived in the 1940´s. Veritable pioneers, his grandparents settled in the highlands where they found a place to raise their children.
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Continuing with our expedition on board National Geographic Islander II , we went for an early stretching session with Wellness Specialist Gicela. It was a beautiful morning on a paradisaic beach with sea lions and stunning scenery. We found a royal tern, a vagrant bird from the Americas rarely seen in Galapagos. We also had the great surprise of finding our sister ship National Geographic Delfina (a luxury catamaran) anchored at the same location. Later, we relocated to Punta Suarez to explore this wonderful site. We had the opportunity to see many unique species, like marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, and the arrival of the waved albatross. These magnificent birds migrate south in December and around April they return to Española Island to find their mates and lay their eggs. It was a great way to end a day full of adventures and wildlife surprises.
Today we visited Floreana, one of the oldest islands in the archipelago. We started the morning with an early visit to the very famous Post Office Bay. Here we continued a fun tradition by leaving behind our postcards with hopes that they reach our loved ones sometime in the future. After breakfast, we went snorkeling near a beautiful rock formation called Champion, where we enjoyed the presence of sea lions, colorful fish, and some sharks! As we had lunch, a pod of bottlenose dolphins swam nearby. We enjoyed observing them jump and race our ship. In the afternoon, we visited Cormorant Point. This area is an active sea turtle nesting site. It has a beautiful brackish water lagoon, where a colony of flamingos is found. It was a spectacular day.
The first full day of our expedition brought us to Bartolome Island. Located on the east side of Santiago, this small island has unique geological characteristics and stunning landscapes. We started our expedition early in the morning. We hiked all the way up to Bartolome’s summit and observed the marvelous Pinnacle Rock, a striking jagged formation. In the last part of the morning, we snorkeled. We had the chance to swim with Galapagos sea lions, sharks, and the incredible Galapagos penguin. We spent the afternoon searching for the fantastic Galapagos land iguana at Cerro Dragon on Santa Cruz Island. At this time of the day, the iguanas rest below bushes. They are seeking shade due to the temperature at this time of the year.
