With a very early morning walk at Espumilla Bay, our day started. We were welcomed to this vast island by loads of blue-footed boobies eating breakfast and a bunch of mating turtles. After breakfast, we snorkeled with various species of reef fish and a few sea lion pups before returning for a lovely lunch. In the afternoon, we visited Puerto Egas on the northwest flank of the island, which gave us the chance to hang with a few fur seals.
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.