Today we woke up anchored in Academy Bay at the island of Santa Cruz, which is the second biggest island of the archipelago; we started our day going to the giant tortoise breeding center, Fausto LLerena. There we learned about all the different projects that are being conducted by the Galapagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Research Station to preserve this unique ecosystem. After this, a group of our guests, went to the Tomas de Berlanga School to learn a little bit more about how education works in the island, and another group went to a sugar cane farm called El Traphiche. After the visits, we had an amazing lunch up in the highlands at Aquelarre Restaurant, followed by the last expedition of the day, observing the tortoises in their natural environment on a private ranch known as El Chato.
10/3/2024
Read
National Geographic Endeavour II
Bartholomew Island and Sombrero Chino
We split into groups for different excursions this morning. Four groups went up the staircase to the top for the iconic view over the isthmus of Bartholomew Island and Pinnacle Rock. We walked past exposed volcanic formations of all sorts: spatter cones, tuff cones, and lava tubes. Two other groups chose to explore along the coast by Zodiac in hopes of Galapagos penguin sightings. All of us were successful in what we hoped for and even the walkers saw penguins near the dock where we disembarked! Both snorkeling off the beach and deep-water outings along the backside of the island were tremendously productive because we saw it all: penguins and sharks being the top species, and diving blue-footed boobies too! The afternoon had National Geographic Endeavour II anchored not too far south, off the coast of Santiago Island near Sombrero Chino. A dramatically barren, small volcanic cone where another snorkeling outing was offered and late-afternoon Zodiac rides to search yet one more time for penguins. We can never get enough of them!