Today, we anchored inside the submerged caldera of a volcano. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, a large portion of Genovesa Island collapsed into the sea. Then waves and currents eroded the more exposed walls and a narrow entrance formed. All sorts of sea life entered and colonized the floor of what had once been a dry landmass but is now a bay. As the sea re-conquered the land, sharks, rays and all sorts of fish swam into the caldera, giving us plenty to look at and enjoy this morning.
We had a wonderful walk on a shallow beach made of coralline sand. We enjoyed the company of its inhabitants, like red-footed boobies, frigatebirds, Nazca boobies, swallow-tailed gulls and spotted eagle rays.
After an incredible snorkel and a well-deserved lunch, we hiked the southern peninsula. Genovesa’s isolation is the main reason for its unique characteristics. There are no land reptiles and very few land birds, among them, the short-eared owl. We looked for this diurnal hunter and found short-eared owls in the day time!
The afternoon ended with a gorgeous sunset, a great end to our visit to paradise.
