Today we visited the most populated island in the Galapagos Archipelago: Santa Cruz. The morning was spent at the giant tortoise-breeding center, where our guests learned about the most successful program of restoration of endangered populations ran by the Galapagos national park. It was a day with plenty of activities, including time in town, an optional visit to a local school, a visit to a farm, all this happening before lunch, which was served in the highlands. Then we boarded the buses and went to the giant tortoise natural reserve. We saw the gentle giant tortoises in their natural environment and walked through a lava tube. It was very important for our guests to learn about the conservation efforts in order to keep this paradise for the future generations. Galapagos is a perfect example of conservation in action!
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.
