We spent a second day on Santa Cruz Island, the second largest island of the Galápagos Archipelago. This morning everything looked different from yesterday, the town of Puerto Ayora was at the other side of the island; the northern part of Santa Cruz was still green, this was the end of the rainy season. An early hike was offered at Cerro Dragon, where we observed common stilts, greater flamingos, marine iguanas, Galápagos flycatchers, yellow warblers, Darwin finches and Galápagos land iguanas. As an option, a Zodiac cruise was available, a delight for photographers who were able to capture blue-footed boobies resting on the lava rocks together with brown pelicans and plenty of colorful Sally Lightfoot crabs. The afternoon was spent at Eden Islet, another great place for a Zodiac cruise and a great kayaking opportunity. Every time we go out, there is something new to see and that is what I love about these excursions; wildlife is so unique and friendly here, and if you take your time you will see a whole lot and the animals will come to see you. This is what makes Galápagos magic!
10/3/2024
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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!