On our first full day of this amazing expedition on board National Geographic Islander II, we visited South Plaza, located on the east side of Santa Cruz Island. The island’s arid vegetation is dominated by opuntia cacti and sesuvium. During a one-kilometer walk, guests observed endemic land iguanas and enjoyed a nice view from a 30-meter cliff.

After navigating for an hour and a half, we anchored at Santa Fé Island. Guests enjoyed snorkeling with sea lions, stingrays, and turtles! We concluded the day with a short walk along the island to observe giant cacti and the unique, pale land iguanas that are only found on Santa Fé.