This morning we anchored in Darwin’s Bay, at the last island of our expedition: Genovesa. This lonely rock is populated by more than a million nesting birds and it is known as “Birds’ Island”. Birds here don’t fear humans and therefore usually unaware of our presence. Early in the morning on this sunny day, our first activity was kayaking. After breakfast we landed at the Darwin’s Bay landing site where there is a beach made of broken pieces of white coral and where our trail is located. We did not have to search too far before finding birds, especially the highlight of today’s visit, the red-footed boobies. We also found frigate birds as they were feeding their babies, as they returned from stealing fish from other birds! After a hot morning some of us needed to refresh and there was a last chance to snorkel in these waters full of big animals like rays and turtles. We even had the chance to see a hammerhead shark up close!
After lunch we collected the many pictures of the week which guests shared for our slideshow, an item that everybody will receive later as a souvenir. After a well-deserved siesta, we visited Prince Phillip’s Steps. This location offers a very different terrain from the one in the morning. In this area we found a rocky trail covered by a forest of palo-santo trees and endless nests of sea birds, especially Nazca boobies. We also found thousands of storm petrels, and in their flying areas we searched for the short-eared owl, the top of the food chain in this land. As the afternoon came to an end, we cruised the bay by Zodiac, observing the beautiful blue ocean within. This was our last day in paradise.
