On the first morning of our expedition in the Enchanted Isles, we anchored near North Seymour. It’s a small, flat island that may look uninteresting from a distance, but it is full of amazing wildlife. Seabirds like the nutrient-rich waters that surround the island, amongst them both magnificent and great frigatebird species which like the arid vegetation where they can nest. At lunchtime we navigated to Rabida and landed on its unique red beach, home to a colony of endemic and ever-so-busy Galápagos sea lions.
4/22/2025
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National Geographic Gemini
Floreana Island
On board National Geographic Gemini , we started our day just after sunrise kayaking along Loberia Bay. It was a very special outing as we had sea lions join us close to our kayaks. There also were baby blacktip reef sharks, spotted eagle rays, and sea turtles. In the afternoon, we snorkeled with sea lions and then we visited Cormorant Point. We encountered more sea lions on the beach, blue-footed boobies along the coast, and flamingos in a lagoon behind the beach. To close Earth Day, we all watched the premiere of the documentary, Sea Lions of The Galapagos, by Disney. Certified Photo Instructor Ivan worked as a field assistant and photographer on the project, which made it a very special and personal event for our guests, especially after experiencing sea lions up close and hearing Ivan’s stories about the shooting of the film.