North Seymour
Since the island of North Seymour is located just north of Baltra, it
is a popular first or final excursion on a cruise tour. It is also one
of the most action-packed visitor sites in the archipelago, since it
serves as an active seabird breeding colony throughout the year. A
circular, 2.5 km long interpretive trail follows the coastline and
passes through the island's interior, providing visitors with a
comprehensive, dynamic view of the island's abundant wildlife.
Along the beach, visitors should expect to see blue-footed boobies
and pelicans fishing, swallow-tail gulls and frigatebirds flying, and
marine iguanas resting on the rocky shore. Taking a rest on the rocks to
witness the frenetic activity offshore may even provide the lucky
traveler with a glimpse of some playful sea lions surfing the waves. On
the inland portion of the trail, visitors are bound to see hordes of
nesting male frigatebirds, attempting to draw the females' attention to
their puffed-up red, guttural sack. Land iguanas are often observed in
this part of the trail as well. Regardless of the time of year, visitors
are likely to observe some kind of courtship, mating, or nesting on
North Seymour . And since both boobies and frigatebirds often make their
nests close to the trail, it is easy to get close to the action.
The snorkeling and scuba-diving at North Seymour are also excellent.
From the surface, visitors are apt to see white-tipped reef sharks,
triggerfish, surgeonfish, and other colorful fish. Diving in the channel
(“Canal”) provides the opportunity to see a host of Galápagos garden
eels, moray eels, and the occasional diamond, golden, or manta ray. At
the other dive site at the point (“Punta”), hunt for white-tipped reef
sharks and moray eels in caves and crevices.
The wildlife you will see on your Galapagos tour are completely
unaffected by Galapagos travel visitors . For this reason, there is a
restricted number of visitors permitted into the Galapagos each year, as
part of a joint effort to protect the delicate environmental and ecological
equilibrium. The most sensible method of Galapagos travel is via our cruise
ships. The M/V Galapagos Legend provides 3 night, 4 night and 7 night
cruises to select from, which can also be easily merged with Galapagos
travel visits to neighboring South American locations