Genovesa Island
At day break we reached Genovesa Island, and as we approached this magnificent place we spotted flocks of seabirds and sea lions breaching off shore! Here, we started our day kayaking along the cliffs of the caldera of Genovesa Island. After an energetic kayaking trip we returned to the ship for breakfast. Later on we headed to the shore to explore the first visitor site. At the very moment of landing we were surprised by the number of birds that we encountered on the trees and on the ground. Genovesa Island is a heaven for many types of sea birds and land birds.
During the walk we came across with the first frigate birds of the season with red pouches inflated and ready to build their nests. The vegetation is green due to the amount of rain and the island shows a lot of contrasts: the green of the trees, the red and black of the frigate birds, the brown and the red of the red footed boobies. It was a very rewarding and also an amazing experience.
In the afternoon we explored the place from the Zodiacs. We visited the cliffs of Darwin Bay in search of Galapagos fur seals, tropic birds and nesting swallow tailed gulls. It was not just these birds what we saw during our ride; the cliffs were dotted with Nazca boobies and frigate birds. Later on we climbed the Prince Philip steps all the way to the top of Genovesa. At the moment we reached the top of the island we were surrounded by Nazca boobies, they are the largest of the three species we have in the archipelago. These birds are nesting right now and the highlights are their fluffy white chicks scattered all over the island!
It was an amazing walk and in my opinion, the best of all of our sightings was the encounter with a short eared owl just ten feet away from us!
At sunset we returned to the ship to celebrate a memorable trip in this corner of the world.
