The mission of the Charles Darwin Foundation and its Research Station is to provide knowledge and assistance through scientific research and complementary action to ensure the conservation of the environment and biodiversity in the Galápagos Archipelago.
On Lindblad Expeditions’ Galapagos Islands trips, children can watch extraordinary-looking birds, sea mammals, insects, and reptiles in their natural habitat.
What if your family vacation created more than just memories? What if it influenced the course of your child’s life? That is the wonderfully inspiring story
Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic has been introducing generations of guests to the magic of Galápagos for 50+ years and have developed deep roots in this remarkable region.
There’s nothing quite like a wake to the “Drake Lake.” Bright skies, calm seas, and refreshing winds welcomed us to our journey’s jolly jaunt into the fabled gateway to the Antarctic. As National Geographic Resolution’s surroundings streamed past in crisp, high-seas definition, we used our sea day to prepare for tomorrow’s first landings beyond the Antarctic Convergence: Zodiac briefings, decontamination parties, and presentations galore filled our memory banks as we enjoyed this gift of a crossing from the sea gods. Plentiful seabirds joined the procession. Great albatrosses followed closely astern as Antarctic prions and Cape petrels zoomed about in our slipstream, all phylogenetic and ecological neighbors to yesterday’s Magellanic penguins spotted in the Beagle Channel, just before two sei whales pushed back bedtime by a whale of a margin. “Blows, big blows up ahead!” came the call from the Bridge, when, in the midafternoon, we came upon a group of lazy fin whales, casually cruising by as the second largest organisms to have ever lived on Earth. With our souls full from this small appetizer of the richness of the world to the south, Captain Martin welcomed us all to the adventures ahead. Tomorrow, the South Shetlands—onward!
“I am the albatross that waits for you at the end of the world. I am the forgotten souls of dead mariners who passed Cape Horn from all the oceans of the earth. But they did not die in the furious waves. Today they sail on my wings toward eternity, in the last crack of Antarctic winds.“ -Sara Vial Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of Tierra del Fuego and marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage. As we approached the infamous Cape Horn in the morning, the sun started to shine, and the fog lifted. We were gifted good views of the lighthouse and the albatross sculpture monument, which pays homage to the sailors who perished as they attempted to round Cape Horn. The monument is accompanied by the above poem by Sara Vial.
Feared by sailors for centuries, the Drake Passage between Cape Horn and the Antarctic Peninsula is well known for the ‘Drake Shake.’ Today, however, it was the ‘Drake Lake’ that we awoke to, and the day was spent pleasantly cruising over placid waters. A calm day at sea gives the crew and staff on National Geographic Endurance a fantastic opportunity to entertain. National Geographic expert Ricky Qi started the program just after breakfast with his talk about the journeys of Antarctic heroes followed by Kelly Ferron, who spoke about female explorers of the White Continent. Later in the afternoon, naturalist Harold Stowell spoke about bedrock geology. But it was teatime that became the talk of the day. Usually hosted on deck 8 in the Observation Lounge, today the bowels of the ship were opened to the guests for a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes. Sandwiches and cakes were served in the laundry room while the crew led tours of the Azipod control rooms and the Zodiac hanger deck. The evening brought us the traditional crew party, and the night was spent enjoying the music of the ship’s band, the Shackletunes.
We woke to another sunny day anticipating a landing on the mainland of Antarctica at Neko Harbour. A gentoo penguin colony was visible from the ship when we arrived. Neko Harbour is surrounded by rugged peaks and expansive and active glaciers. During breakfast, we were startled by the rumbling and crackling of an avalanche high above the placid bay. Gigantic chunks of ice and clouds of snow dust cascaded into the bay. Curious gentoos greeted us when we arrived on land. We witnessed the gentoos nesting. They build their nests with small pebbles and are known to steal rocks from each other. This colony is monitored by Penguin Watch with the support of National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions. Our lunch was delayed a few minutes to witness a pod of killer whales swimming near the ship. We soon noticed that a humpback whale was swimming with the orcas. In the afternoon, we arrived in Paradise Harbour, surrounded by snowy peaks and clear, calm water. We spent the afternoon kayaking before participating in a polar plunge. Many guests were excited to earn their commemorative patch by jumping into the frigid water. This was a spectacular final day on the peninsula. Written by Bree Oatman and Jenny Hartigan, Grosvenor Teacher Fellows
We were in our Zodiacs by 7:30am for a last excursion through the swell and ice of Spert Island and Farewell Rock. Between basalt cliffs, grounded icebergs, and clear turquoise waves, this landscape was one of the most dramatic we have seen. It was also our first opportunity to visit a chinstrap penguin colony. This adventure was under our belts by 9am and we had the rest of the day for brunch, rest, an art tour, waffles for teatime, a presentation by our National Geographic photographer, and our final recap.
