As we began the first full day of our Galapagos adventure, we awoke to Galapagos sharks swimming alongside our floating home for the week, the National Geographic Endeavour II. A deep blue sky and sea welcomed us as we headed out in Zodiacs to land at North Seymour. Our hike around this tiny island led us to encounter an amazing plethora of wildlife. Afterwards we headed back to the ship for lunch, while a short navigation brought us to Rabida Island in the afternoon. It’s distinctive dark red coloring is a departure from the landscapes that we have experienced so far. Already we were experiencing the incredible diversity of this archipelago. After a long hike over this unique terrain, we headed back to the shore to take our Zodiacs back to the ship. The sun dipped behind the horizon, creating a beautiful array of colors through the sky. More adventures await us tomorrow, as our exploration continues.
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.
