Tower Island
After a leisurely breakfast, we alight on Darwin’s Bay beach – in the mouth of the volcano. Darwin’s Bay is the caldera of Tower Island, which means it is the center of a dead volcano. The M.S. (magnificent ship) Polaris is anchored in blue water where lava once spewed.
On the beach, boobies everywhere! It is our first sighting of the red-footed boobies, the third species of boobie in Galápagos. Now our boobie sightings are complete. (Will I ever get sick of this joke?)
For the first time in the season, the great frigate birds are displaying their bright red gullar sacks. Their red chests are puffed up, inflated, sheer displays of true love. At least for the moment. There is no monogamy in the frigate fleet.
A hike on dark black lava, brings up close views of baby nazca boobies, frigates, fur seals (actually a kind of sea lion), and a very territorial black damsel fish – he took on an invading rock and won.
Shark! Shark! Shark! The Galapagos sharks are mating in shallow waters, circling around, displaying their curved dorsal fins for all and sundry to see.
Then deep water snorkelers Zodiac to the mouth of the caldera, where the current sends us around safely back from whence we came. Cold waters make for prehistoric looking fish – we see giant parrotfish and hieroglyphic hawk fish and some lucky snorkelers spot several mobula manta rays.
After lunch and a stimulating lecture on Ecuadorean fruit, we head up Prince Phillip’s steps – though, to our knowledge, the Duke of Edinburgh has never been here and they are soon to be renamed (according to our naturalist Franklin) Franklin’s Steps.
We see the short-eared owl – the top of the Tower Island food chain as he sits down to dine on a wedge storm petrel. He rips off the petrel’s head, and chow’s down. No one has ever tucked in to dinner with more enthusiasm – not even at lunch on the Polaris.
Sunset on the sky deck tops off a perfect day, all framed by the steep walls of Darwin’s bay.
After a leisurely breakfast, we alight on Darwin’s Bay beach – in the mouth of the volcano. Darwin’s Bay is the caldera of Tower Island, which means it is the center of a dead volcano. The M.S. (magnificent ship) Polaris is anchored in blue water where lava once spewed.
On the beach, boobies everywhere! It is our first sighting of the red-footed boobies, the third species of boobie in Galápagos. Now our boobie sightings are complete. (Will I ever get sick of this joke?)
For the first time in the season, the great frigate birds are displaying their bright red gullar sacks. Their red chests are puffed up, inflated, sheer displays of true love. At least for the moment. There is no monogamy in the frigate fleet.
A hike on dark black lava, brings up close views of baby nazca boobies, frigates, fur seals (actually a kind of sea lion), and a very territorial black damsel fish – he took on an invading rock and won.
Shark! Shark! Shark! The Galapagos sharks are mating in shallow waters, circling around, displaying their curved dorsal fins for all and sundry to see.
Then deep water snorkelers Zodiac to the mouth of the caldera, where the current sends us around safely back from whence we came. Cold waters make for prehistoric looking fish – we see giant parrotfish and hieroglyphic hawk fish and some lucky snorkelers spot several mobula manta rays.
After lunch and a stimulating lecture on Ecuadorean fruit, we head up Prince Phillip’s steps – though, to our knowledge, the Duke of Edinburgh has never been here and they are soon to be renamed (according to our naturalist Franklin) Franklin’s Steps.
We see the short-eared owl – the top of the Tower Island food chain as he sits down to dine on a wedge storm petrel. He rips off the petrel’s head, and chow’s down. No one has ever tucked in to dinner with more enthusiasm – not even at lunch on the Polaris.
Sunset on the sky deck tops off a perfect day, all framed by the steep walls of Darwin’s bay.
