Boobies & Beaches

Blue-footed booby. First big item - tick!

Our first full day onboard and I was already exhausted. Not from hiking or snorkeling — but from trying to keep up with the schedule. Between the educational sessions, expeditions, and meals, there wasn’t a spare minute to just… be. Throw in a sunrise stretch on the observation deck and a photo workshop with a National Geographic photographer, and it felt like boot camp for those prone to the dreaded FOMO. You had just enough time to shower, eat, or pee...

Today’s itinerary included a morning hike on North Seymour Island, followed by a practice snorkel and short hike on the red-sand shores of Rábida Island. Light day, apparently.

North Seymour was small but mighty — just two square kilometers, but packed with wildlife. Within minutes we were surrounded by blue-footed boobies, swallow-tailed gulls, iguanas, and the show-offs of the sky, magnificent and great frigatebirds. Males with inflated red chests were trying their best to impress the ladies, looking like heart-shaped balloons that might float away with a strong gust.
The loop walk was only about 2 km, but the terrain was rocky enough to keep you focused. For those who preferred not to risk a twisted ankle, the expedition team offered a zodiac tour around the island.

The ship's top deck or observation deck

Space for drying off things

This guy (Galapagos sea lion) greeted us at the landing. If you didn't look carefully you could easily miss him!

Swallow tail gull

Even blue-footed booby teenagers look awkward. Looked like Gonzo to me!

Mum and bub

Dad taking the limelight for the family portrait

How they got their name. They turn blue because of diet

The male frigates with their enlarged pouch while trying to find a mate

This one has found himself a female and enticing her with the nest that he has chosen

Whispering sweet nothings...then

wham bam thank you mam! They now wait 5 months for an egg

To get one of these!

A slightly older baby

Land iguana

Lava iguana

I feel you baby sea lion, I would sleep like that too if I could

By afternoon, it was time for the Rábida Island snorkel. The island’s surreal red sands — the result of high iron content in the volcanic rock — made it look like Mars had been relocated to the Pacific. It was extraordinary in the water. Playful sea lions zipped and twirled around us while boobies and pelicans dive-bombed for fish overhead. For beginners, the team ran a “gentle snorkel” session with instructors hovering nearby. Credit to the staff who were phenomenally efficient. Getting 90-odd people into and out of zodiacs within a tight timeframe deserves a medal.

After a lightning-fast shower, we barely made it to the evening’s “In the Footsteps of Charles Darwin” lecture. It was a fascinating look at how revolutionary (and scandalous) Darwin’s theory of evolution was in the 19th century, especially when it challenged polite Victorian society’s belief that humans were far too dignified to share ancestry with monkeys. The talk came with drinks and canapés which was an added bonus! 

Dinner followed, then glorious, dreamless sleep — until the alarm goes off for tomorrow’s “adventure.”

Day 10: Survival of the fittest — and I’m barely making the cut.

Guaguas de pan and colada morada to celebrate the Day of the Deceased

Always snacks everywhere onboard

Ready to snorkel on Rabida Beach

Hiking up to the view point

Cacti

Darwin Finch

I want to be a sleeping sea lion

Pre-dinner drinks and more snacks