This morning we visited North Seymour, an island that is the product of uplifted seafloor due to volcanism. Although flat and dry, North Seymour is quite a highlight. The island is home to seabirds like the ever-popular blue-footed booby, which seems to be at the beginning of a new breeding season. Great and magnificent frigates also live on the island, and today, we walked amidst their colonies. In the afternoon, we visited the island of Rabida. The red sandy beach is quite stunning, and we had the opportunity to snorkel amongst endless schools of fish and some Galapagos sea lions. After dinner, our captain navigated along the northeastern coast of Isabela Island. An eruption that began in the early days of January still continues, offering us magnificent views of red glows and incandescent rivers of lava. What a spectacular way to end an amazing first day in 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.
