Genovesa Island
We awoke with the most spectacular scenery around us; we had anchored inside the crater of Genovesa Island. The colors of the sun reflected on the walls of this caldera that collapsed years ago, leaving behind the small entrance we sailed into.
Genovesa is situated in the northern part of the archipelago, too far away from the central islands for any land reptiles to have arrived here, but more than a million birds have colonized this island; about half of them are storm petrels. But we had many other species surrounding our ship, magnificent and great frigate birds, swallow-tailed gulls, Nazca boobies and the highlight of the day: red-footed boobies.
Genovesa Island has two visitor’s sites: Darwin Bay and Prince Phillip’s Steps. Both of them are outstanding. The Prince Phillip’s steps are carved directly into the volcanic rocks at the beginning of the walk. Soon, after 90 feet, we were at top of a high cliff. Around the lava plateau it is possible to observe thousands of storm petrels that are covering the sky. There is a lot of activity from other bird species as well.
At one point all our attention was centered on a specific bird species, a predator: the short-eared owl. This kind of owl lives in lava tubes along the cliffs and feeds on storm petrels. The brown colors of the bird’s plumage blends into the colors of the lava surroundings, but we found it! It was leaving from his burrow when spotted.
Darwin Bay is a white coralline beach with red mangroves; these plants are the nesting sites for many red-footed boobies. Many juveniles were seen today, looking at us with a lot of curiosity as we walked along the area. Frigate birds were showing off, and there were calls, sounds and colors all over. What a wonderful place!
We combined our land activities with snorkeling and kayaking in the warmest waters of the Galápagos. It was the perfect ending for our expedition in this magical archipelago.
