Today's expedition took us to the diverse landscapes of San Cristóbal Island. We experienced the nesting sites of blue and red-footed boobies at Punta Pitt and encountered playful dolphins during our navigation to Cerro Brujo, a pristine beach paradise.
We began the day by transiting Bonneville Dam, the first lock of our river journey. This experience was complimented by presentations and commentary from our naturalists before we went ashore at Hood River. Our first stop was Multnomah Falls, the tallest waterfall in Oregon. Following this natural wonder, our guests had the option of hiking Beacon Rock or going to Bonneville Fish Hatchery. Beacon Rock provided an enjoyable yet challenging uphill hike, while the fish hatchery offered insight into the process of raising salmon to supplement wild populations. The two groups reunited once more at the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center, where we were treated to a wine tasting by Sincline Vineyards and a beautiful spread of appetizers from Field & Vine. From there, we returned to National Geographic Sea Bird for dinner, followed by a presentation from Cultural Specialist Patrick. We look forward to another great day on the river tomorrow!
Today we enjoyed our first full sea day on board National Geographic Orion . Guests were able to sit back, relax, and enjoy the amenities of the ship. After breakfast we were treated to two presentations by our natural history staff. First up was an introduction to Polynesia, then ‘Life Behind the Lens’ with our National Geographic expert. After lunch we were treated to a presentation explaining the settlement and migration of Polynesia. It was a beautiful and inspiring talk by our cultural specialist.
Land Ahoy! We have crossed the Atlantic Ocean and made landfall on Cape Verde. Our journey to explore these islands started with a thorough tour of Santiago Island. A great place to start was Cidade Velha, the old Capital of Cape Verde with its impressive fort and quaint town with cobbled streets and whitewashed homes. We started our climb into the mountainous interior where the island’s volcanic origins were very evident. With some stops at the botanical gardens and a market, we made our way along the spine of the island to Tarrafal, where a delicious lunch awaited us. Some guests decided to add a quick swim at the beach with an array of colorful fishing vessels. The history of the political struggles of the island in the early and mid-20th century was clear when we visited the concentration camp near Tarrafal. We wended our way down the eastern coast of the island enjoying the scenery, occasionally being stopped by goats meandering across the road, oblivious to the traffic! We finished with a wander through the center of the current capital, Praia, seeing the market, churches, and squares, ending by the Presidential Palace.
We awoke to the view of a wonderful blue water bay and white sandy beach off the coast of Espanola Island. After breakfast, we had a wet landing and explored Gardner Bay. This visitor site had a large colony of sea lions which allowed us to get photographs of these marine mammals. Some of us chose to go deep water snorkeling and we encountered a large variety of species of fish. We saw a couple playful Galapagos sea lions and we even spotted a couple of blacktip reef sharks. After an incredible morning, we headed towards Punta Suarez, where we went on a Zodiac ride along the cliffs of Espanola. We were lucky to see a couple of waved albatrosses flying over the coastline. This species of albatross is unique to Espanola and only nests on this island. We spotted a large variety of sea birds as well as marine iguanas on the coast. We returned to National Geographic Islander II after a wonderful sunset in the enchanted archipelago.