Santiago Island, also known as James Island is of one of the few Islands visited by Charles Darwin in 1835. Today our guest visits early morning a site is known as Espumilla Bay, we have an early hike, paddleboards and kayaks around the bay. After breakfast we move to Buccaneer’s Cove where we enjoy deep-water snorkel, glass bottom boat and more kayaking along the cove. We spot lots of Pacific green sea turtles, sea lions, golden rays, an even a hammerhead shark. After lunch the National Geographic Endeavour II move to Puerto Egas, here our guests enjoy time of at the beach, follow by a hike along the coast. This was another wonderful day at the Galapagos Islands.
4/30/2025
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National Geographic Gemini
Santa Cruz Island
Early in the morning we awoke to the view of green palo santo trees marching up the hill from Santa Cruz and Baltra Islands. After breakfast we took buses to go on an exploration of the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center in Puerto Ayora. At the breeding center, we spotted several species of giant tortoises and learned about the projects currently happening to restore the dynasty of these giant endemic reptiles of the Galapagos. Later, we enjoyed lunch at a waterfront restaurant and continued our exploration in the highlands of Santa Cruz to visit the giant tortoises in their natural habitat. We spotted several male tortoises and a few females. We had great opportunities for photography at this location. After the visit to the giant tortoise ranch known as El Manzanillo, we ventured to an area with twin pit craters and then made our way back to National Geographic Gemini for evening recap.
