It was an amazing adventure and one that is quite hard to put into words.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Galápagos, they are an archipelago off the coast of Ecuador and made famous by Charles Darwin for his studies on Natural Selection. The entire region is protected as a Marine Reserve and Ecuador’s Galápagos National Park. This means that animals, for the most part, have no major predators or threats to their food source and reproduction (human impact does have an effect however), making the Galápagos a real-life Disney World and Magic Kingdom of nature!

I was able to visit this magical place with Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic, making it all the more meaningful in that we had a team of nature and photography experts to help guide us and inform us. What is even more unique and exceptional about this expedition experience with Lindblad, is that the entire crew and team was either from the Galápagos or had spent a large portion of their lives there!

Here was my trip in Summary (thanks to Lindblad that provided this recap so I didn’t have to recall everything) – The photos are mine and my sister’s who accompanied me on the trip

DAY ONE – APRIL 13 ARRIVAL TO SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND

We arrived to San Cristobal via Guyaquil, where we had a nice welcome to Ecuador at the Oro Verde hotel and the very friendly staff and crew there and Lindblad. Once we were on the ship, there was a sunset welcome reception and a tour around kicker rock accompanied by frigate birds in flight!

DAY TWO – April 14, ESPAÑOLA ISLAND

We explored a long, white-sand beach with dozens of Galápagos sea lions sleeping, nursing, and grousing at each other; covered with sand, sleek and wet, or half-and-half. Snorkeling off Gardner Island, we encountered schools of razor surgeonfish, streamer hogfish, and marine iguanas on the bluffs above the waterline.

The afternoon had Captain Garcés taking National Geographic Endeavour II beyond our anchorage, out into the deep, where large, slow, shallow waves were coming from the southeast….

…where we had an appearance by bottle-nosed dolphins! As the Zodiacs drove out into deep water, a small pod of around 40 showed up and accompanied us briefly on our way to see the blowhole of Punta Suarez and the sea birds of the cliffs of Española Island.

Sea lions on the beach in action above and a dolphin escort below!

DAY THREE – April 15 FLOREANA ISLAND

We awoke at Floreana Island, the mystery island. We went for an early walk, and it was so worth going there early! We saw a couple of blue-footed boobies performing their famous mating dance, while several Galapagos sea lions were resting at the green sandy beach. We also stumbled upon a large flock of flamingos! What a beautiful sight it was!

 After breakfast we anchored by Champion Islet where the water activities took place because this is a great snorkeling area.

The afternoon brought us to Post Office Bay where kayaking was offered as well as a visit to the famous Post Office Barrel, where postcards were exchanged. It was another great day in paradise!

DAY FOUR – April 16 SANTA CRUZ ISLAND

Today National Geographic Endeavour II anchored at Academy Bay on the southeast side of Santa Cruz Island to enjoy a day full of amazing experiences. We started with a visit to the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center at the Charles Darwin Station and National Park Headquarters. Afterwards some of we chose to explore the hydroponic farm of the Ochoa family, and it was truly a highlight of the trip!

 In the afternoon we enjoyed a walk among the Galapagos giant tortoises along their migration route through the farming area.

DAY FIVE -April 17 SANTA CRUZ ISLAND: Dragon Hill, Borrero Bay and Daphne Major Island

This day, we arrived at Cerro Dragon on the northwestern side of Santa Cruz Island. The outing allowed us to visit the home of one of the most emblematic creatures of the archipelago, the yellowish, golden Galapagos land iguanas. Later, we went for an amazing snorkeling excursion to enjoy the deep blue waters with playful sea lions and lots of sea stars.

 In the afternoon, we arrived at Bahia Borrero where we explored the bay by kayaking and paddle boarding, looking for baby sharks and rays in the mangrove forest and we were dive-bombed by Pelicans enjoying the abundant fish.

DAY SIX – April 18 BARTOLME AND SOMBRERO CHINO

Today I started with a small group for an exploration of Bartolome Island for iconic Galápagos views, and then we all all met up for excursions around Sombrero Chino “Chinese Hat,” later in the day. We had special encounters throughout the day, spotting the Galapagos penguin, sea lions, and blue-footed boobies. We also saw a number of sea creatures during our snorkeling activities.

One of the MANY highlights of the day was our encounter with a pod of about 250 dolphins (many new baby dolphins with their mothers). They approached our ship and our amazing captain circled around for us to greet each other…one jumped about 10 feet out of the water to put on a show!

 We finished the day with a delicious BBQ dinner on the sky deck of National Geographic Endeavour II.

DAY SEVEN: April 19 SANTIAGO ISLAND

During our final full day of exploration, we arrived at Santiago Island. This Island has many visitor sites and so much to offer our guests using many tools of exploration, such as our glass bottom boat, kayaks, Zodiac rides, paddle boards, and snorkeling activities.

 Santiago Island has been restored and it is common to see endemic and native animals and plants that only belong to this Island.

I did this trip with my sister. We hadn’t travelled together in so long and it was the perfect way to spend an unforgettable trip together. The people we met, the animals we saw and the places we experienced on this Lindblad Expedition to Galápagos were beyond magical. It was the trip of a lifetime and I couldn’t recommend it more.

Daily summaries were provided by members of the expedition team (Cindy Manning, Expedition Leader; Vanessa Gallo, Naturalist; Karina López, Naturalist; Omar Adrian, Naturalist; Javier Cotin, Naturalist; and Walter Perez, Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor), as I doubt I could remember everything so vividly. They are all a huge part of what makes a trip with Lindblad so special and exceptional.