Today we awoke anchored on the eastern side of Santa Cruz Island, right near two uplifted islands shaped like parentheses known as the Plazas. On South Plazas, we lucked upon a healthy population of land iguanas in their natural habitat. We also had a great panoramic view from the 30-meter cliff of the island, an ideal vantage for observing marine birds in flight. In the afternoon, we navigated for about an hour to Santa Fé Island (named after a city in Spain). Here we had our first snorkeling and kayaking activities. We enjoyed the diversity of marine life, especially the groups of sea turtles at their cleaning stations. To finish a great day, we took a short walk at sunset surrounded by giant prickly pear cacti.
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.