Early in the morning, the National Geographic Endeavour is exploring its first destination. By six in the morning, we have the weather update. The ocean temperature is reaching 77°F, which makes our entire marine program exciting.
After breakfast we have plans for deepwater activities and we disembark on the beautiful sandy beach of this bay. The snorkeling is close to Gardner islet and the activity of the tropical and reef fish is great. The visibility seems to be affected by the swell that has lifted sediment at the bottom of the ocean. Nevertheless, the experience is fantastic and all our explorers feel satisfied by this very first encounter with such a great activity.
At the beach the disembarkation is difficult, but the staff performs with great professionalism so our guests feel confident in achieving the landing without much inconvenience. The scenery at the beach looks unreal with all these sea lions dispersed all along the area. It looks so special we can hardly contain the adrenaline generated by this close encounter with these creatures. From the beach, we organize the first round of kayaking of the expedition. By eleven thirty in the morning, it is time to organize our return to the ship for lunch and for the rest of the onboard schedule.
At three o’clock in the afternoon, our guests now are ready to go for a dry landing on Punta Suarez. We brief the guests on the natural history of the site we are about to explore. Once we set foot on the island, the explorers can barely control their excitement. We start walking the path and the activity of the diverse birdlife is just beyond imagination. Close to the path we see a hunting Galápagos hawk surrounded by Galápagos doves and mockingbirds, which are totally unafraid of the hawk. The red marine iguanas are colorful enough to generate an endless number of questions due to their color.
Far inland, there are other attractions such as the blue-footed and Nazca boobies. The blowhole and the entire scenery defy simple descriptions. The only obstacle so far is the large number of mosquitos that have tried unsuccessfully to sabotage our exploration of this amazing destination called the Galápagos Islands. In the late afternoon, all the National Geographic Endeavour explorers return to the vessel. We are satisfied by the adventure today and we wonder how the next day will top this first full day in the Galápagos.
