This morning the ship moved towards Urbina Bay, at the belly of seahorse-shaped Isabela Island.
Breakfast was announced and some of us were already beginning to eat when we heard on the PA system that orcas were outside the ship. We all ran to the outer decks to see them, and in the meantime the crew put the Zodiacs in the water, so we embarked them with cameras in hand and the rest is a fantastic story – one of the highlights of the expedition and maybe one of those moments we’ll remember forever. So, of course, the delayed breakfast was well worth it.
Later we landed on the island for long and short walks through an area of interesting geology and biology. The shore was moved backwards following a tectonic event in 1954. Uplifted coral is now scattered all around the area, about half of a mile inland. Tortoises of Alcedo Volcano wander around freely. Some were nesting, while others were waiting to grow strong enough to climb up the volcano slopes. Land iguanas live here permanently and almost always smile at us.
Later we visited Tagus Cove for snorkeling, kayaking and hiking. There we saw penguins, cormorants and more interesting wildlife. This how we enjoy the Galapagos at its best.
Patricio, better known as Pato amongst his friends, was born in the Galápagos Island. His family moved to the islands from the mainland and settled on the island of Santa Cruz over thirty-five years ago. Pato had an enchanted childhood in the islands...
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We woke up to super calm waters off the northern coastline of Floreana Island. Perfect conditions for a bit of kayaking among the offshore islets near Post Office Bay! Brown pelicans, egrets, green sea turtles, and red, black, and white mangroves…a peaceful environment for an hour or so before breakfast. Some guests went straight to the beach to walk a few yards through saltbushes and found themselves facing the famous “barrel” of Post Office Bay. It’s been over a century since the barrel was first placed here for use by whalers to exchange correspondence and carry back letters of business, or perhaps letters to loved ones. Today, postcards fill the barrel, but the turnover is fast. Each day, some of the postcards are taken for delivery while others are left behind in hopes that someone will continue the tradition and hand-deliver them in the weeks to come. Between breakfast and lunch, we played in or on the water around Champion Islet, just to the northeast of Floreana Island. We didn’t make a landing but explored by Zodiac, including a birdwatching circumnavigation followed by deep-water snorkeling in incredible waters with parrotfish, angelfish, pufferfish, damselfish…all kinds of fish! Sea lions buzzed by, desperate to draw attention and get a reaction out of us, which they did. Squeals and shrieks were heard. After an instructional briefing on iPhone photography and a presentation on Charles Darwin in the afternoon, we went ashore on the main island of Floreana. There has been quite a drought this year and not much rain the previous year either. The land was dry, the vegetation was brittle, and dead leaves were everywhere. But all that is fine for the native and endemic species; after all, they’ve been through this before, over the millennia, and survived. The stress is on the introduced species who depend on higher amounts of freshwater for survival. While their defenses are down and populations are stressed, now is the time to really push for programs to eradicate introduced species. Floreana Island is ready for restoration. The National Park and collaborating NGOs are preparing Floreana to receive native species that were once thought doomed for extinction. Giant tortoises, Floreana mockingbirds, and racer snakes may yet survive and prosper with the help of these organizations. We spent the afternoon following an easy trail from a dark-colored beach of mineral origin and over the isthmus to a white, organic beach where green sea turtles were riding the breakers offshore. The turtles are not quite ready to come ashore and lay eggs, as temperatures are still too low for another month or so. But a great blue heron and frigatebird were checking out the scene, just in case someone tried for an early nesting. It will be a couple months before hatchlings try to race to the ocean in the dark of night. We returned to our base of operations as the sun set low on the horizon. National Geographic Islander II was waiting for us with hot water and the comforts of home.
In the early morning, National Geographic Islander II visited Bartolome Island, one of the most iconic places in the Galapagos Islands. We made it all the way to the top to get panoramic pictures of the pinnacle view. Then we headed back to the ship for breakfast and to get ready for the beach, where we planned to practice with our snorkeling gear for the first time. Afterwards, some of our guests enjoyed deep-water snorkeling, and others took tours in the glass-bottom boat. During the afternoon, we visited Cerro Dragon on Santa Cruz Island to look for land iguanas, and we found them posing for us on the trail. It was an amazing day aboard National Geographic Islander II !
