Last night while we slept, the National Geographic Endeavour II rounded the northern end of Isabela Island. At first light we sailed through rolling banks of fog as we crossed Banks Bay, nearing the anchorage of Punta Espinoza at Fernandina Island. After a walk on lava flows that are hundreds of years old, we snorkeled across the bay with diving marine iguanas and foraging green sea turtles. During lunch, we repositioned to Punta Vicente Roca, and after a coastal exploration aboard our Zodiacs, we crossed the Equatorial Line during a sunset tasting of South American wines.
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.
