In the morning before breakfast we had an early excursion at Punta Cormorant. We landed on a beach with greenish sand, and we had the advantage of the first light of the day for great pictures. There were many flamingos feeding in the brackish water lagoon, and furthermore we were very fortunate to observe a few couples of blue-footed boobies nesting, as well as sally light foot crabs, and Floreana lava lizards. Afterwards we enjoyed a Zodiac ride around Champion Islet, and luckily we got to see the very elusive Floreana mockingbird, among other birds such as lava herons, swallow-tailed gulls, Nazca boobies and blue-footed boobies. In the afternoon we visited a historical site known as Post Office Bay; this is the oldest post office system in the Americas, and our guests had the opportunity to keep the tradition alive by dropping and collecting postcards to be hand delivered.
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.