Today's activities started in the best way: a morning hike on Dragon Hill! This unique place is located in the north part of Santa Cruz Island. Due to the rainy season, this typically dry forest showed us a very rare and temporary greenish hue all over the landscape. Thanks to this, we were able to enjoy dozens of Galapagos land iguanas sunbathing, fighting and eating. After the typical and tasty Ecuadorian Lunch, we enjoyed a quick talk with the National Geographic photographer Todd Gipstein, sharing with us his techniques for shooting photos in the islands. Then, it was time for kayaking, paddle boarding and a Zodiac riding, according to our guests’ preferences. And to finish this great day, we had a wine tasting with a very prominent rainbow over the mystical Daphne, lure of the contemporary evolution basis thanks to the experts biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant and their Darwin Finches. Another day in paradise!
5/29/2025
Read
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.
