This is the final day of a great week spent exploring the enchanted Galapagos Islands. Early in the morning, we visited Santa Fe, a very small island with a turquoise bay. We had the opportunity to see the land iguanas that inhabit this unique place. We found an endemic Galapagos snake, nursing baby sea lions, and giant prickly pear Opuntia cacti along the trail. In addition, we snorkeled with playful sea lions and multicolored fish. Our morning was exceptional. In the afternoon, we moved to Cerro Brujo, considered one of the most beautiful beaches of the Galapagos. We had a wonderful afternoon swimming and walking on a white sand beach. Later, we circumnavigated Kicker Rock, a legendary tuff cone at the foot of San Cristobal. The sun set quickly, and we celebrated a great week around this incredible archipelago.
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.
