Today, our guests explored Santiago Island, the same island where Charles Darwin spent much of his time during his visit to the Galápagos in 1835. Darwin, along with several crewmembers from HMS Beagle, camped on Santiago for a week. During his stay, he studied the Galápagos marine and land iguanas, and collected a variety of species, including finches, mockingbirds, insects, and plants. Many of these species were unique to the islands. While on Santiago, Darwin also observed that the local wildlife appeared unusually unafraid of humans.
4/9/2025
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National Geographic Islander II
Isabela and Fernandina Islands
Today we visited the youngest part of the archipelago, to the west. Early in the morning, we circumnavigated a beautiful geological formation known as Roca Redonda, where thousands of marine birds nest. Then we navigated along the shoreline of Isabela Island; we admired the beauty of the landscapes, with the fog that is characteristic of this time of year hiding Ecuador Volcano behind it. At Punta Vicente Roca, we explored the bay with our Zodiacs and searched for wildlife. We found charismatic sea lions, marine iguanas, sea turtles, and the famous flightless cormorants. In the afternoon we hiked on the youngest island of the archipelago, Fernandina, where thousands of marine iguanas basked under the sun and light rain in big groups. Some of us went on a Zodiac exploration in search of penguins, and we succeeded in finding them in the late afternoon. We ended the day with an al fresco barbecue dinner and local music on board!
