Today was our first full day in the Galapagos Islands, and we started the day on North Seymour, an uplifted, bird magnet island. This island is home to great and magnificent frigatebirds, swallow-tailed gulls, blue-footed boobies, and Galapagos yellow land iguanas. As we walked along the trail, we encountered these species and many curious and beautiful sea lion pups as well. In the afternoon, we continued the expedition on a famous red island known as Rabida, where we took the adventure into the water with our first snorkeling outing. The day ended with a sunset walk to observe flamingos nesting and sea lions coming to the shore to rest. It was a magical day on the Enchanted Islands, and this is just the beginning!
5/6/2025
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National Geographic Endeavour II
Isabela Island
Navigation brought us to the largest island in the Galapagos Archipelago, Isabela. Holding half of all land mass in the Galapagos, it has a diverse selection of ecosystems that we were able to visit. Urvina Bay was geologically uplifted in the 1950’s, taking two square kilometers of seafloor that was thrust upward, in certain areas up to four meters out of the water. Intertidal species were stranded inland, and we walked upon this area. Galapagos giant tortoises and land iguanas were found on our trail, and we were surrounded by Darwin finches and Galapagos mockingbirds. The afternoon brought us to Tagus Cove where we explored the surrounding waters, encountering Galapagos penguins and Pacific green sea turtles swimming among the kayakers and snorkelers. As the sun dipped below the horizon, adventurous hikers took a fast-paced hike to enjoy an incredible view of Darwin Lake and the immense island of Isabela.