Today we awoke anchored on the eastern side of Santa Cruz Island, right near two uplifted islands shaped like parentheses known as the Plazas. On South Plazas, we lucked upon a healthy population of land iguanas in their natural habitat. We also had a great panoramic view from the 30-meter cliff of the island, an ideal vantage for observing marine birds in flight. In the afternoon, we navigated for about an hour to Santa Fé Island (named after a city in Spain). Here we had our first snorkeling and kayaking activities. We enjoyed the diversity of marine life, especially the groups of sea turtles at their cleaning stations. To finish a great day, we took a short walk at sunset surrounded by giant prickly pear cacti.
10/4/2024
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National Geographic Endeavour II
Genovesa Island
With coffee in hand, I stepped out onto the front balcony of the lounge to see what was going on. We had just entered Darwin’s Bay, dropped anchor, and the juvenile red-footed boobies had found the ship and were flying around us on an inspection tour. The rest of the day continued with discoveries of all kinds. An early morning inversion layer (locally known as “garúa”) had fallen and dampened the environment with much desired drops of fresh water, although the chicks of various species didn’t appear terribly pleased in having wet feathers. On our return, the same bedraggled individuals looked smooth, sleek and dry once the sun had come out. The Galapagos National Park has only two sites for visitors, both spectacular, both well worth a slow walk among the palo santo trees to see the great frigatebirds, red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, Galapagos doves, Darwin’s finches, short-eared owls, and storm petrels. Snorkeling, kayaking, and paddleboarding along the base of the cliffs of Darwin’s Bay followed. There’s nothing quite like this island anywhere in the world.