Early this morning National Geographic Islander arrived at Academy Bay on Santa Cruz Island. We got to see juvenile tortoises at the breeding center and then had a chance to explore the town. During the afternoon, we went to look for Galapagos giant tortoises in the wild and found lots of them all over a farm located right next to the tortoise reserve.
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 16 Nov 2018
Santa Cruz Island, 11/16/2018, National Geographic Islander
- Aboard the National Geographic Islander
- Galápagos
Gilda Gonzalez, Naturalist
Gilda was born in Ambato, located in the very heart of the Ecuadorian Andes. Since she was a child, she loved animals, often rescuing street cats and dogs. Her parents always made sure there were nature books and plenty of Jacques Cousteau’s videos a...
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Relatively small and low compared to neighboring Santa Cruz, North Seymour is located to the north of Baltra. The island is dry with predominantly low shrubs, like prickly pear cacti. The incense trees are bare during the dry season. Seabirds like frigatebirds and blue-footed boobies nest on the island, and sea lions rest on the sand when they are not fishing. Land and marine iguanas also live here. Rabida is in the middle of the archipelago and has a striking red sand beach. We observed a small colony of sea lions of all ages resting or nursing. Behind the beach, American flamingos nest in a brackish lagoon. This island is full of contrasts and wildlife that we enjoyed observing during this day of expedition.