This week’s expedition is coming to a close, and we have to maximize our time left in the Enchanted Islands. Today we visited San Cristóbal Island; at its northeastern tip, we find Punta Pitt, which is a cluster of very old tuff cones, now heavily eroded by rain, wind and wave action. The walls of the former cones still rise tall and majestic above sea level, and they are the home to various seabirds that find here suitable nesting spots and productive surrounding waters. The star species of the morning is the red-footed booby. There are five distinctive colonies located in the periphery of the archipelago, including Punta Pitt. They are pelagic feeders, foraging in a radius of sometimes over 100 miles from their colonies. In the afternoon, we visited Cerro Brujo with its stunning white-coralline beach. It was a last visit to the natural areas of this remote archipelago, an everlasting memory of this unique corner in our wonderful planet.
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.