Today we visited my home island, Santa Cruz. Puerto Ayora town is located in the southern part of Santa Cruz Island, and here we find the headquarters of the Galapagos National Park and the famous Charles Darwin Research Station. We used this opportunity to visit the giant tortoise breeding center and learn firsthand about the conservation efforts to protect the Galapagos Archipelago. There was even time for shopping and wandering in the cozy town. In the afternoon, we visited the highlands, stopping first at a local farm, called El Trapiche, then we all enjoyed a great meal served at a restaurant Aquelarre and the rest of the afternoon was spent at the giant tortoise natural reserve. Here our guests had a great time observing the gentle giants in their environment. It was a fantastic day!
5/29/2025
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National Geographic Gemini
Genovesa Island
Genovesa is considered one of the Galapagos crown jewels, and today it was showing off all of its splendor. Immediately after breakfast we put on our sturdy shoes and set out to explore Prince Philip’s Steps. This area is known for opportunities to observe not only large colonies of nesting Nazca and red-footed boobies, but maybe, just maybe, the short-eared owl which exhibits diurnal behavior on this island. After this walk we got ready for a dip in the Pacific Ocean and snorkeling along the inner coast of this caldera. The afternoon was equally amazing as we disembarked to explore Darwin Bay, along a short and easy trail that was packed with wildlife. Here we observed not only nesting frigatebirds, red-footed boobies, and Nazca boobies, but also a few yellow-crowned night herons. It was another incredible afternoon in the Galapagos Islands.
