Tower Island
Early in the morning, we anchored in Darwin Bay. As soon as we disembarked we saw lots of birds flying around: red footed boobies perching on the trees, swallow-tailed gulls nesting and incubating their eggs, and, of course, male frigate birds with their beautiful gular pouches, almost ready to mate. Very soon, the so-called “bird island” is going a change a lot. The rainy season is just starting and the vegetation will be so lush that more male frigatebirds will be able to find nesting grounds. With their gigantic red balloons full of air, they will attract the female’s attention to mate with them, so the island will look like a giant Christmas tree! The beach walk was incredibly pleasant because of all the birds that we saw. Later in the morning, we walked on a long lava flow looking for more birds and to encounter the incredible view of the cliff, where, lucky us, we got to see a large group of Galápagos sharks. It was simply amazing to see them so close when swimming in a very shallow area.
After a little while, the island became very hot and the snorkeling activities were mandatory. Lots of colorful fish were swimming with us in very nice and clear water.
In the afternoon, we went to the other side of the caldera looking for the short-eared owl. Genovesa is one of the few places on Earth with diurnal behavioral owls, and we were very fortunate to see them.
After the walk, we came back on board to finish our day with a cocktail and a beautiful sunset. What else we could ask for?
Early in the morning, we anchored in Darwin Bay. As soon as we disembarked we saw lots of birds flying around: red footed boobies perching on the trees, swallow-tailed gulls nesting and incubating their eggs, and, of course, male frigate birds with their beautiful gular pouches, almost ready to mate. Very soon, the so-called “bird island” is going a change a lot. The rainy season is just starting and the vegetation will be so lush that more male frigatebirds will be able to find nesting grounds. With their gigantic red balloons full of air, they will attract the female’s attention to mate with them, so the island will look like a giant Christmas tree! The beach walk was incredibly pleasant because of all the birds that we saw. Later in the morning, we walked on a long lava flow looking for more birds and to encounter the incredible view of the cliff, where, lucky us, we got to see a large group of Galápagos sharks. It was simply amazing to see them so close when swimming in a very shallow area.
After a little while, the island became very hot and the snorkeling activities were mandatory. Lots of colorful fish were swimming with us in very nice and clear water.
In the afternoon, we went to the other side of the caldera looking for the short-eared owl. Genovesa is one of the few places on Earth with diurnal behavioral owls, and we were very fortunate to see them.
After the walk, we came back on board to finish our day with a cocktail and a beautiful sunset. What else we could ask for?
