Today, take a morning excursion to North Seymour: one of the most visited islands in the Galapagos. The hiking trail on North Seymour crosses inland through the island and then explores the rocky coast. Along the way the trail passes colonies of blue footed boobies and frigate birds.
The magnificent frigate bird, a large black bird with a long wingspan and a hooked beak, is extremely fast and has excellent vision. Frigate birds are known for the large red pouch on their necks. During mating season, the males throw back their heads, inflate the pouch (sometimes to the size of a soccer ball), and shake trying to capture the attention of female frigates. Boobies and frigates have an interesting relationship. Sharing the same nesting area on North Seymour, blue-footed boobies nest on the ground making their nests from the twigs of the palo santos trees, while the frigate birds nests just above them in the saltbushes.
Your walk is followed by a spot of snorkelling, where you can find a colourful variety of fish and, possibly, some white-tipped reef sharks, rays and sea lions.
After lunch, visit the small sandy Isla Mosquera: a picturesque island located between Baltra and North Seymour. Along the rocks and in the tide pool, Sally Lightfoot crabs (red lava crabs) scamper back and forth, skipping across small pools of water in search of food. These crabs with their bright red shell tops and blue under shells are stunning against the black lava. The island also has a very large colony of sea lions, as well as a sizeable resident brown pelican population. Depending on the tides and visibility, you may have a chance to go snorkelling in its surrounding turquoise waters.
Estimated travel time/distance:
North Seymour to Baltra: 4 hours (35 nautical miles)
Baltra to Caleta Tortuga: 1 hour (7 nautical miles)
SØK
-8.png)
Download PDF 
