Española is one of the oldest islands of the Galápagos Archipelago; it is a former shield volcano that after thousands of years of erosion has become flattened, mostly covered by dry zone vegetation. This is, however, the middle of the wet season, and the entire island looks emerald green. To the North we find Gardner Bay: with its turquoise waters and white sands, it is certainly one of the most beautiful beaches of the islands. A large colony of Galápagos sea lions inhabits this beach, with a few of them seemingly curious about our presence, while others were totally oblivious to us. Towards the South, the coast of Española has high cliffs that are favored by various marine bird species as well as marine iguanas. In this dramatic shoreline food abounds and foraging is particularly good, therefore Punta Suárez is considered one of the highlights of the Enchanted Isles.
5/29/2025
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National Geographic Gemini
Genovesa Island
Genovesa is considered one of the Galapagos crown jewels, and today it was showing off all of its splendor. Immediately after breakfast we put on our sturdy shoes and set out to explore Prince Philip’s Steps. This area is known for opportunities to observe not only large colonies of nesting Nazca and red-footed boobies, but maybe, just maybe, the short-eared owl which exhibits diurnal behavior on this island. After this walk we got ready for a dip in the Pacific Ocean and snorkeling along the inner coast of this caldera. The afternoon was equally amazing as we disembarked to explore Darwin Bay, along a short and easy trail that was packed with wildlife. Here we observed not only nesting frigatebirds, red-footed boobies, and Nazca boobies, but also a few yellow-crowned night herons. It was another incredible afternoon in the Galapagos Islands.
