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.
3/31/2025
Read
National Geographic Islander II
Española Island
Continuing with our expedition on board National Geographic Islander II , we went for an early stretching session with Wellness Specialist Gicela. It was a beautiful morning on a paradisaic beach with sea lions and stunning scenery. We found a royal tern, a vagrant bird from the Americas rarely seen in Galapagos. We also had the great surprise of finding our sister ship National Geographic Delfina (a luxury catamaran) anchored at the same location. Later, we relocated to Punta Suarez to explore this wonderful site. We had the opportunity to see many unique species, like marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, and the arrival of the waved albatross. These magnificent birds migrate south in December and around April they return to Española Island to find their mates and lay their eggs. It was a great way to end a day full of adventures and wildlife surprises.
