Genovesa Island
It is sincerely amazing to have the privilege to spend a whole day exploring this remote and beautiful island. Everywhere you look, there is something extraordinary that traps your attention. Birds by the thousands can be seen nesting, flying, walking around, and carrying their lives in an idyllic harmony that is hard to express in few words. It is roughly estimated that no less than a million birds live on the island. The island itself is quite small, only 5.4 square miles; therefore, the abundance of wildlife is simply overwhelming. In addition to this explosion of wildlife, breathtaking volcanic landscapes merging with blue waters produce a combination that can be just imagined in a work of art.
One of the striking characteristics that any given visit to this island provokes in its visitors is the unusual indifference their inhabitants, the animals, show to them. This latter trait has become a trademark to the Galápagos and is by far the strongest feeling and memory our visitors take home with them. This special situation is not easy to explain. In “The Song of The Dodo” by David Quamann, in the Galápagos Islands chapter the author makes reference to this peculiar behavior. He describes it beautifully as “ecological naiveté.” In my humble opinion, it is a great way to describe elegantly the awkward feeling produced by having an undisturbed wild animal at such close range. Just take a look at the picture of today. I bent on my knees and carefully put the camera few feet way from this patient and magnificent sea lion model. Great, isn’t it?
It is sincerely amazing to have the privilege to spend a whole day exploring this remote and beautiful island. Everywhere you look, there is something extraordinary that traps your attention. Birds by the thousands can be seen nesting, flying, walking around, and carrying their lives in an idyllic harmony that is hard to express in few words. It is roughly estimated that no less than a million birds live on the island. The island itself is quite small, only 5.4 square miles; therefore, the abundance of wildlife is simply overwhelming. In addition to this explosion of wildlife, breathtaking volcanic landscapes merging with blue waters produce a combination that can be just imagined in a work of art.
One of the striking characteristics that any given visit to this island provokes in its visitors is the unusual indifference their inhabitants, the animals, show to them. This latter trait has become a trademark to the Galápagos and is by far the strongest feeling and memory our visitors take home with them. This special situation is not easy to explain. In “The Song of The Dodo” by David Quamann, in the Galápagos Islands chapter the author makes reference to this peculiar behavior. He describes it beautifully as “ecological naiveté.” In my humble opinion, it is a great way to describe elegantly the awkward feeling produced by having an undisturbed wild animal at such close range. Just take a look at the picture of today. I bent on my knees and carefully put the camera few feet way from this patient and magnificent sea lion model. Great, isn’t it?
