We started our first full day of exploration with a wonderful sunrise and perfect weather conditions. In the morning we went ashore to stroll along the trail of North Seymour, and with every step we found a different animal. First we saw the swallow-tailed gulls nesting, then sea lions, marine iguanas, land iguanas, and many frigatebirds nesting on the trees. Some male frigatebirds were displaying their ritual to attract the females, which consists of inflating their red gular sacs, then spreading and shaking their wings while making some rattling sounds. In the afternoon we had a great time snorkeling at Rábida Island, and later walking along an astonishing red beach with colonies of sea lions. Behind the shoreline we saw a flock of pinkish flamingoes nesting at the edge of a brackish water lagoon, while others were feeding on mollusks and microscopic shrimp. The sunset on the horizon was the icing on the cake for such a spectacular day of fun in the paradisiacal Galapagos.
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.