We continue our exploration of the western side of the Galapagos; today we visit the navel of the seahorse-shaped island. Urbina Bay is part of an uplifted area of the shoreline, after an event occurred in 1954. A power hike is offered to take our guests to giant coral heads (also uplifted in 1954) and the nesting site of land iguanas. In the afternoon we visit the beach of the seahorse-shaped island and we offer several activities. Paddle boarding was a blast and so was kayaking; our guests also enjoyed snorkeling near the walls of Tagus Cove. And we also offered a hike up to Darwin Lake for sightseeing and exercise.
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.
