Genovesa Island, 6/3/2022, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
We saved the best for last on our final night in this amazing paradise. National Geographic Endeavour II navigated northeast of the archipelago to Genovesa Island, or Tower, a horseshoe-shaped island. The anchoring place is inside of the remains of a submerged volcanic crater, known as Darwin Bay, despite the fact that Charles Darwin never visited this island. Genovesa holds a unique flora and fauna composition, especially of marine birds. Known locally as “Bird Island,” the majority of the red-footed booby population is located here.
Our first visit was to Prince Philip’s Steps, named after visits from Prince Philip in 1964 and again in 1981. Colonies of red-footed and Nazca boobies, frigatebirds, wedge-rumped storm petrels, and a couple short-eared owls (the island’s top predator) greeted us after our dry landing and a 25-meter climb up lava rocks turned into stairs. In the afternoon, we took a peaceful walk around the trail of the beach at Darwin’s Bay. We were surrounded by colonies of marine birds and enjoyed close interactions with them. We finally closed the day with great sightings of sharks and rays!
Felipe’s connection with the Galapagos Archipelago dates back to his great grandparents, who came to the islands in the 1930s. The Wittmer family moved to the island of Floreana and were one of the first families to settle in the Galapagos. Felipe’s ...
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As we left the eastern islands and headed towards the central part of the archipelago, we experienced a very different geology. These somewhat younger islands have younger lava flows, pioneer vegetation, and a unique landscape. Bartolome Island is a satellite volcanic cone from James Island, and it has a unique lunar landscape that is often referred to as the moonscape of the Galapagos. Our day started early in the morning with a pre-breakfast outing, a favorite for most of our guests. The best part about starting our day as the sun rises is that we get to see how the wildlife wakes up with the sunlight! Some of us hiked up the cone of Bartolome. We experienced quite a workout with a series of 380 wooden steps! Every 100 steps or so, we regrouped for a moment to talk about the fascinating formation of the islands and to take some beautiful pictures with the great light. We continued all the way to the summit at about 300 feet. During our coastal exploration, we toured around in Zodiacs. The pitch-black lava contrasts with the turquoise water to create the most spectacular scenery for wildlife! We spotted blue-footed boobies in the early morning, a flock of penguins looking for a meal, herons ready to make their first catch of the day, and fish coming very close to the surface. The volcanic landscape was amazing, and we observed iconic features, including the famous Pinnacle Rock. After breakfast, the golden beach looked appealing. We sunbathed, snorkeled, and took photos. Snorkeling here is fascinating because we can observe sea lions, rays, reef sharks, penguins, and an amazing number of fish. Sombrero Chino Islet is a volcanic cone on the southern coast of James Island. Sombrero Chino is a combination of lava flows, lava tubes, and uplifted sea floor. The beautiful white sand beach is home to sea lions, lava lizards, pioneer plants, and succulents. Sombrero Chino is also the home of the northernmost penguin in the world, the endemic Galapagos penguin. How special it is to see a penguin surrounded by lava and cacti! There is nowhere else in the world that one can swim with such a bird and watch as it flies underwater! The Galapagos penguin is one of the world’s eighteen penguin species. It is the second smallest and the northernmost penguin. Its origin is in South America, and its closest relative, the Magellan penguin, lives in Chile. The Galapagos penguin has adapted to living on the equator, and it is an endemic species. Found along the lava rocks, the penguins are iconic on the islands. Snorkeling with a penguin in the Galapagos is a unique and amazing experience.
Today we explored the northern side of Santa Cruz Island. Dragon Hill was our first stop. This spot is home to one of the island’s iconic species, yellow land iguanas, which is where the site gets its name. The landscape was unique and exotic, and we found lots of wildlife as we walked around the area. We observed marine iguanas resting and warming up before heading out to feed in the sea. As we kept walking, we encountered a brackish water lagoon, where we saw six or seven flamingos! This was amazing, as it is uncommon to see that many in this area. We usually see one or two if any. Our trail took us through the palo santo forest. Right now, the forest is very dry and leafless. Once we reached the loop part of the trail, we started to spot various land iguanas. Some of the iguanas already have their bright yellow and red breeding colors. This was a definite highlight for our guests. In the afternoon, we offered guests a variety of activities to choose from, including paddleboarding, kayaking, or a Zodiac ride along the northeastern coast of Santa Cruz. It was incredible! We saw at least six groups of mating sea turtles, baby blacktip sharks, various herons, pelicans, and more. What is the best way to end an incredible day? With a wine tasting! We enjoyed sunset with a wonderful display of wines offered by the galley as we circumnavigated Daphne Major. Today was a day that will be hard to beat!
We arrived at Floreana, one of the southern islands in the archipelago. This is where the island’s first colonizers settled. Our day started very early in the morning with a pre-breakfast nature walk. We were lucky enough to spot American flamingos flying into the lagoon at Punta Cormorant. A little farther along the white sand beach, we encountered basking green sea turtles. Back on board the ship, we had breakfast. Morning activities started with a beautiful Zodiac ride along the bay of Champion Islet, followed by tours in the glass-bottom boat and snorkeling outings. Our morning was absolutely gorgeous with great weather conditions and clear visibility in the water. The water activities offered amazing encounters with the sea life on this stunning island. After an invigorating morning, we returned to the ship for a delicious Mexican lunch with delicious margaritas. Lunch was followed by a lecture about the island’s human history. We all enjoyed wonderful stories about this interesting island, its visitors, attempts at colonization, and various tales about the entire archipelago. We spent the afternoon at the famous Post Office Bay, where guests chose between kayaking and paddleboarding along the area called Baroness Lookout. The amazing, pristine lagoon was busy with sea lions and green sea turtles, and blue-footed boobies passed by overhead. We went to the beach to visit the old-fashioned mail barrel, which has been a working postal system for over two centuries. Our guests had the opportunity to be part of the tradition. Just like sailors did in the old days, guests left behind their own mail and took some postcards and letters to hand deliver back home. We will leave Floreana with beautiful memories of our time spent here.
