The Epic Galapagos photo expedition has come to an end, after 800 nautical miles of exploration in the past fifteen days. During these two weeks, we have visited every single corner of this wonderful archipelago, witnessing different environments on each island. Marine iguanas, boobies, sea lions and many other endemic species found no where else were the target on each outing.
Genovesa Island is isolated on the northeastern corridor of the archipelago, and it is sometimes call the jewel of the Galapagos Islands. This unique place has a very fragile ecosystem, and it is very important that we protect it by practicing sustainable tourism. We disembarked early this morning, in order to catch the best light of the equatorial sunshine on Darwin’s Bay. Swallow-tail gulls and sea lions were spotted across in the scenic landscape of Genovesa Island. Further into our walk, the beach merged into a mangrove forest, where we saw the conspicuous red-footed booby, which is the only tree nester booby in the Galapagos Islands. Red-footed boobies and frigatebirds darkened the sky, taking advantage of the thermal winds while heading to their fishing grounds on the northeastern side of the archipelago.
Our guests that headed to Prince Phillip’s steps observed the greatness of the caldera of this ancient shield volcano. As we walked through a Palo Santo forest, Nazca boobies, mockingbirds, Galápagos doves and Darwin’s finches filled the air with their distinctive sounds. The trail took us to pahoehoe lava plains that have been oxidized by the erosion. Since the top predator of the Galapagos island, the Galapagos hawk, is absent from this island, short-eared owls had become diurnal and prey on storm petrels. The plumage of the short-eared owl provides it with the perfect camouflage, blending in with the rust-colored rocks, allowing it to surprise the storm petrels as they land in the field.
After spending a few hours on land, some guests decided it was time explore the underwater realm of this area, while others enjoyed close encounters with the wonders of Genovesa from kayaks, and some spent the rest of the morning at the beach. Our day ended with an extraordinary sunset that illuminated the rim of Genovesa Island as we were leaving the bay. What an amazing end to an incredible day!
