These two islands are a world within themselves. In the morning, we visited North Seymour Island, where we observed nesting seabirds from a close distance. Two species of frigatebirds nested near blue-footed boobies. We enjoyed observing a colony of sea lions, marine iguanas, and crabs. In the afternoon, we navigated to Rabida Island with its striking red sand beach. We had a wet landing and explored the island’s underwater world, which is rich in wildlife. After our time in the water, we took a stroll along the beach to see nesting flamingos and sea lions resting on the sand. This was a full day of expeditions in the Galapagos Islands.
5/6/2025
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National Geographic Islander II
North Seymour and Rabida Islands
At 6:30 in the morning, some guests joined us for an expedition on North Seymour Island, which is slowly losing its green color due to the beginning of the dry season. It is a perfect time of year to see blue-footed booby couples starting to reproduce with the typical courtship displays and a good number of male frigatebirds with their red gular sack inflated. We encountered a good number of healthy land iguanas since they still have a lot of food, thanks to the previous wet season. While navigating to Rabida Island, bottlenose dolphins escorted National Geographic Islander II for at least 45 minutes, and guests had an excellent time watching them. In the afternoon, we snorkeled from the beach with colorful fish and young, playful sea lions who put on a great show. At the end of the day some guests took a walk on the red colored sand and watched American flamingos behind the dune at a saltwater lagoon. Others went kayaking along the coast full of land and sea birds.