On our first full day of this amazing expedition onboard National Geographic Islander, we stopped by South Plaza. Located on the east side of Santa Cruz Island, South Plaza is a 0.13km2 island that holds coastal and arid vegetation, mostly dominated by Opuntia cactus and Sesuvium. Along this 1 km walk, our guests enjoyed nice views from a 30 m cliff and sightings of the endemic land iguana. After an hour and a half of navigation, we anchored at Santa Fé Island. Here, we started with a snorkeling activity with sea lions, stingrays, and turtles! After a great snorkel, we concluded with a short walk along the island among some giant cacti and some unique pale land iguanas that are only found on Santa Fé.
4/3/2023
Read
National Geographic Islander II
Española Island
Today we arrived at Española Island. Located in the southeastern realm of the Galapagos, Española is the oldest island in the archipelago. We started very early in the morning with an amazing pre-breakfast kayak outing along one of the island’s cliffsides. We saw many seabirds nesting and resting on the rocks along the coast. After breakfast, some of our guests disembarked on a big coralline beach named Gardner Bay. We had the opportunity to walk among a breeding colony of dozens of sea lions. At the same time, deep-water snorkelers enjoyed the deep blue with its amazing marine wildlife at Gardner Islet. Later, some of our guests went for a remarkable second kayak outing. To end the morning, everybody enjoyed the stunningly soft white sand and the turquoise waters. Guests had a pleasurable time walking along with a group of very curious Hood mockingbirds. After a delicious lunch back on board, we enjoyed a presentation about Charles Darwin from naturalist Ramiro. In the afternoon, we headed to Punta Suarez. We found a group of jumping dolphins that blew our minds. Later, we observed marine iguanas on old lava boulders where they gather in large groups for warmth. We also spotted blue-footed boobies, Nazca booby nesting grounds, a Galapagos hawk, and various other birds. Every day in the Galapagos is an opportunity to rediscover the beauty of nature through unbelievable encounters. While visiting the oldest island of the Galapagos, today was no exception.