We spend our day exploring the northwestern coast of Floreana. First thing this morning we landed at Punta Cormorant for a pre-breakfast excursion, where we hiked around a brackish water lagoon and had a chance to see American flamingoes and Pacific green sea turtles leaving the beach after nesting. Later on in the morning we had the chance to explore the shoreline of nearby Champion’s Islet while snorkeling, Zodiac cruising, or taking a ride in our glass-bottom boat. During the afternoon, we repositioned to Post Office Bay, where after delivering our postcards we had a chance to go kayaking and stand-up paddle-boarding in a mangrove area, a resting place for sea turtles and the occasional visiting area for flamingoes from the nearby brackish water lake.
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.
