Amazing Expeditions with Liz Bonnin | Ultimate Galápagos Adventure | National Geographic
i think my heart just stopped beating this place is just I mean I'm Liz Bonan a wildlife biologist with a passion for our planet now I'm returning to one of my favorite places on Earth to show you just how amazing it is join me on my 5-day National Geographic Lindlad expedition through the Galapagus to snorkel with sea lions visit ancient giants and spot flying thieves you have to experience that uncovering what makes this place so special and why it needs to be protected so that you can fall in love with it just like I did good morning welcome to the Galapagus [Music] i've traveled over 7,000 miles to get here but I'm finally here this is Baltra Island where we landed and over there is the National Geographic Islander 2 it's going to be my home for the next [Music] week i'm excited now i'm ready to get on board yes yes hola cool stuff because much of the team on board is local they're the perfect guides to help us uncover what makes these islands so extraordinary traveling through this archipelago with a small footprint requires an adapted vessel and this one is compact enough to reach hidden corners letting me see do and learn more first up I'll take advantage of the open bridge policy and meet the captain captain hi hello very nice to meet you yes this looks very complicated no it's very easy behind these controls is a simple mission from reduced speed to precise mooring these systems help to preserve the waters Captain Garcia loves how does it feel to be from Ecuador showing people this absolute magical place galapagos inspires it's a place I enjoy same day with my my thing mhm my thing is perfect when you speak about Galapagus your face lights up yes this is the enchanted island oh Dr gorsia you describe it so beautifully the enchanted Galapagus consists of 13 main islands and over 100 smaller islands and rocks today we're heading to Santa Cruz to find an iconic but elusive creature first though we're passing an island that helped to further our understanding of life itself it's amazing this is Daphne Major tiny on the map but monumental in terms of science because back in the 1970s biologists Rosemary and Peter Grant studied Darwin's finches on that very island coming back every season for 40 years if you've heard of Darwin's finches it all started in Galapagus these birds played a big part in inspiring his theory of evolution and over a century later the Grants set out to test that theory they discovered that changes in rainfall and food availability led to rapid changes in beak sizes proving that animals evolved to adapt to their environments even faster than first thought part of the magic evoked by Captain Garcia is that here you can see animals up close time to step onto my first island Santa Cruz this is one of the largest islands in the Galapagus and home to some of its first inhabitants who aren't always easy to find the island's elevation and rainfall resulted in this once barren volcanic landscape becoming covered with vegetation concealing the spiny creatures we're searching for fortunately I've got some help that's one of the burrows this is where they spend the night so we know they are here there's another one here the burrow beautiful yellow iguana burrow but they're out of the burrow during the day they come back around 5 or 6 in the evening so right now they're out and about two iguanas or could be all I see is the two i think I think one is Yeah going that way this one and the other one going this way so it's an iguana going out to forage and coming back to its burrow oh there's one right there it's actually in there stopping tucked in the vegetation these are amazing resilient ancient reptiles that arrived to the Galapagus many millions of years ago on floating rafts of vegetation surviving what must be a treacherous journey and they're really important ecosystem engineers to the Galapagus Islands they disperse seeds they keep the vegetation in check they recycle nutrients and they're doing relatively well in this part of Santa Cruz hence the name Dragon Hill dear future explorer each night I'll write you a postcard to share what I've learned and why I love this place so much my hope is that you'll be inspired to help preserve this amazing place too today I was reminded that life can arrive by chance find a way to survive and become part of something greater tomorrow I'll dive beneath the waves in search of a very graceful swimmer where the story of life's arrival here continues we've traveled south to Champion Island home to some of the best snorkeling in the Galapagus the wildlife of the Galapagus is special because of volcanic activity and isolation but also because of what happens beneath the waves two cold currents carrying lots of nutrients are stopped in their tracks by the Galapagus Islands and upwelling takes place so all those nutrients feed an entire marine food web and that's why there is just so much interesting wildlife in the [Music] ocean heat heat [Music] [Music] that was magical it's the only word oh just meeting eyes with a wild animal who just wants you to play it's the most exhilarating wildlife encounter there is and those words don't even cover it you have to experience that more than 40 miles southeast of Champion Island lies Espanola Island where algae thrive in cool upwellings and lure a remarkable animal off the land and into the sea charles Darwin didn't really like these guys he called them imps of darkness but you know what if I had to pick one species that really blows me away in the Galapagus it's these guys millions of years ago when their land iguana ancestors arrived in Galapagus there was very little food to go around in this barren volcanic landscape and so some iguanas started wandering by the shoreline looking for food and then they started going into the water and this led to the evolution of this extraordinary species the marine iguana the only lizards in the world to spend time in the [Music] ocean they've got these longer claws in order to hang onto the rocks in the currents so they can eat the algae that's the food source that they found for themselves [Music] they have these special nasal glands that help them to expel all the salt water that they ingest as they're eating algae during El Nino years when there's very little food around because the waters are too warm they can actually shrink in size i mean literally shrink their skeletons and then when the food returns they grow again within a matter of months i think that is absolutely extraordinary and I mean just look at the expression on their faces they know they're [Music] badass the forces that shape this magnificent place aren't always obvious to see but today I felt them these waters pull life in from every direction and they've pulled me into their magic too tomorrow I'll explore one of the most beautiful sandy beaches in the [Music] archipelago the ship stayed morowed overnight perfectly positioned to explore Espanola Island but the animals had another plan for us good morning Oh my god [Music] classic of Galapagus they just are not afraid of humans and especially when they're this young they're very very curious indeed and so you get to witness now you're sneezing because of all the sand in your nose you get to have wildlife experiences like this i think my heart just stopped beating we keep our distance from the wildlife you have to stay away at least 6 ft but this absolute precious little sea lion pup who's scratching away completely unfazed by my presence sometimes they just come towards you hello i think it might be confusing me for a sea lion i'm not going to take that personally i feel crazily lucky that I'm so close to you right now oh my gosh oh my gosh this place continues to blow me away but that that was extra extra [Music] special thank you for the most special morning I could possibly have had [Music] you know when we're filming we're always rushing around trying to capture as many magical moments as possible to share as many stories of incredible places like these as possible but the crew and I always try to remember to just take a moment for a couple of minutes to really connect with places filled with nature like this and I think this is one of those moments come on guys let's do this hi 2 minutes not a bad view eh [Music] just enjoying the day on Gardener Bay today the Galapagus extended an invitation and we listened and paused the most memorable moments in nature are when we are truly present it's the fourth day of this amazing expedition and we've traveled northeast to San Crisal Island today another member of the team will help us to find a whole new cast of characters including some with spectacular feet this is really dramatic i've not been to this part of San Crystal before oh this is very different again isn't it it's amazing exact somebody referred to the islands as each island being a separate petradish each island has different components and life evolves independently these guys are playing hard to get today come on wake up guys it's a cold morning so they're staying in bed late now many of the island's most captivating species are of the aerial variety and there are thieves among them tooth land somewhere here oh it's going to land it's going to land right there oh no [Music] and you're putting up your arm just in case it lands on your head whoa oh it likes you Salvador ooh wants to take my hat okay let's just I'm just going to keep my arm up maybe things in a branch oh don't grab me though oh wow it's young it's just learning it doesn't know oh it's so beautiful to see one so close are you kidding me i love that the hook and deal that they have makes it easier to grab things on this deal frigot birds the pirates of the skies they lack waterproof feathers so they can't dive for food instead they stay airborne for weeks stealing meals and the seabirds they steal from the most the boobies there's one with the red feet guys our first boobies ooh they're just nature is the best artist what we need now it needs to stand up so he can show us it and show us your feet please that's my first red-footed booby and it's so beautiful that's a young male sitting there calling looking to attract the ladies what he'll do first is point his bill upwards and go "Ah." It's pretty bad but it's my best attempt to attract the female and if she pays attention and wants to check him out he will just gently just point his feet showing off the red and if it's nice and bright and red he's proving to her that he's fit and healthy and that he's worth having offspring with what I love about this part of San Crisal is that you've got three different species of boobies all living in harmony the redooted they nest in the trees the blue-footed like this one over here they nest on the ground and then the Nazca they nest on the clifftops and each species also feeds in a different part of the ocean at a different depth so they don't compete for nesting habitat or food perfect balance there's a lesson in there somewhere oh it's back oh now there's Oh oh my god did you get that [Music] today we witness nature in harmony three seabird species helping to maintain the balance of the island it's a reminder of the interconnectedness of things and that we all have a part to play in protecting Galapagus no matter where we live it's the final day of this unforgettable expedition and as we disembark the scenery is about to change dramatically once again we're heading to the highlands of Santa Cruz in search of ancient reptiles that crossed paths with humans here centuries ago [Music] giant tortoises they've roamed the earth for over 2 million years if there was ever a primordial beast this one is it they are really important animals and we're really only beginning to understand just how every single species on the planet plays a role in keeping nature healthy these slowmoving grazers shape the very landscape around them eating the vegetation they clear the way for new growth and in the process they scatter seeds with some seeds only germinating if they pass through their bodies overall uh Oh hello someone's a little noisy back there which end did that come out of the the back end um it's all the vegetation Jonathan it is i mean it's it's all natural after all right here right their numbers plummeted when instead of eating their way through paradise they became the menu they were nearly hunted to extinction during the time of the whalers right giant tortois are thought to leave over a year without food and water it was an easy way to keep fresh meat for long navigations but an incredible effort in conservation is helping to turn their fate around back in the days we think we assumed that we had up to easily over 300,000 tortoises in Galapagos we barely make it over 65 maybe 70,000 tortoises today and the reason being I mean we have a lot of um the great efforts of the Galapagos National Park establishing breeding programs in some of the main islands and I love that aside from conservationists farmers for example are playing a role in taking care of this species by providing a freshwater pond by raising their fences working with nature that's really lovely to see this is as good as it gets when it comes to giant tortoises in the highlands of Santa Cruz if I was a giant tortoise this is where I would hang out it's a tortoise spa it's a That's what it is it's a tortoise spa [Music] my journey through the Galapagus is nearly over but there's one last place I've always wanted to visit so I can be part of something pretty special in 1835 Charles Darwin walked on this very beach in fact I am following the exact path that he took to a very special place in [Music] there so this is Post Office Bay and it's got a tradition that dates back to the 1800s whalers and then sailors used to leave their messages here in the hope that others passing by on their way home would take the messages and deliver them to their loved ones so they could share their stories of their adventures and today I get to add my storms here there's loads of them in here okay it feels really special actually do you know that feels really nice leaving my love letters to the Galapagus in this barrel and hopefully somebody will pick them up and deliver them for me i feel so incredibly lucky to have come back here again i like to think of Galapagus as this precious jewel on our blue planet testament to just how resilient and magnificent nature is always finding a way to survive and thrive given half the chance what I've also seen here along with the wildlife are some of the most extraordinary humans pulling out all the stops to give Galapagus a bright future and we are all deeply connected to that no matter where we live we can play a part in making sure that Galapagus continues to be as magical as it always was its story is still being written and what happens next is up to us [Music]
2025-04-20 14:05
