Today was giant tortoise day! There is no better place to find giant tortoises in the wild than Santa Cruz highlands. Our day started early in the morning taking our Zodiacs and landing for first time in the northern part of Santa Cruz Island. Then we took buses and after a scenic drive or less than 30 minutes we arrived at our first stop: The Twins. These two craters are amazing geological formations where we also had the opportunity to observe different species of finches and plants that are unique the humid zone. Later, we drove to Rancho Manzanillo, where giant tortoises roam freely around this beautiful property. After the visit, we had lunch on the ranch, and later we took again our buses back down again to the coast where we boarded our Zodiacs to get back to the ship. After some down time, we took out our Zodiacs, this time to visit a beautiful beach: Las Bachas. This was the perfect way of ending an unforgettable day.
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.
