Genovesa
As the sun rose, Captain Pablo Garces carefully lined up two wooden navigation aids on shore, and safely entered the flooded caldera of the northern island of Genovesa or Tower. For a couple minutes we had only a few meters of water below our double-hulled ship; a short time later we were safely anchored in the northern corner of Darwin Bay. Before breakfast I escorted a group of eager kayakers out in our bright yellow boats. In the cool of the early morning they paddled along below the cliffs of Genovesa and enjoyed seeing hundreds of seabirds, a few sea lions and a large spotted eagle ray.
The morning hike departed from a small white sand and coral beach and was a delight for all of us – guides and guests alike. Genovesa is home to hundreds of thousands of seabirds; along an easy trail we observed and photographed swallow-tailed gulls feeding their chicks, adult red-footed boobies perched in mangroves shrubs, juvenile red-footed boobies in and out of their nests frantically flapping their wings to strengthen their flight muscles, adult and juvenile yellow crowned night herons and frigate birds both adults and juveniles on the shrubs and in their nests, and soaring on the wing above us. The blue sky was full of birds, as were the bushes and the cliffs. Birds were everywhere.
Some of us swam from the beach, some returned to the ship to relax and a group of guests went via Zodiac to the snorkel site across the bay. There was time for packing and siesta after lunch and then we boarded into the Zodiacs for a final shore hike.
As the afternoon began to cool off, and the sun dropped slowly in the western sky we boarded the Zodiacs and motored across the sunken caldera. Red-billed tropic birds fluttered overhead and a few sleeping fur seals were discovered in rocky caves. We scrambled up a steep cliff at Prince Phillip’s Steps and then walked along broken lava through a ghostly gray palo santo forest. Nazca boobies were standing on the ground, red-footed boobies and frigate birds were perched in the trees, and several black or gray Darwin finches hopped among us in search of seeds. We searched in vain for short-eared owls and as evening darkened into dusk we motored back to the ship under a bright three quarters moon.
Our week’s exploration of Galápagos has come to an end and we have had unforgettable experiences. We have seen all four species of Galápagos mockingbirds, all three species of boobies, and both species of land iguanas. We have snorkeled with sea lions, sea turtles and sharks and admired courting penguins from the Zodiacs. We hiked among nesting albatross and carefully stepped around piles of marine iguanas. We have hundreds of photos to prove to our families and friends that this all really happened, but in truth one needs to come here oneself to witness these magical islands first hand!
