Genovesa or Tower Island welcomed us for our last day in the Galapagos. Today was fantastic from beginning to end, and we couldn’t have asked for a better way to finish this week.
Early at sunrise, the National Geographic Endeavour entered a collapsed caldera which led us to our anchorage for the day. The landscape of this site is amazing, and the diversity of bird life is incredible. This was the day to look for red-footed boobies, which is the most abundant of the three species of booby, but it only occurs on the edges of the archipelago, and Tower Island is home to the largest red-footed booby colony in the world! As soon as we anchored in the caldera, we could spot these curious birds from the outside decks, and once we went ashore, we were literally surrounded by them.
We explored two areas of the island today, Darwin’s Bay and Prince Philip’s steps, both of which are highlights of the Galapagos archipelago. We saw frigatebirds on display, red-footed boobies starting their nests, Nazca boobies interacting with their young chicks, and short-eared owls hunting storm petrels right in front of our eyes. Genovesa is definitely a paradise for bird watchers and nature lovers, and it is also a great snorkeling site. Our guests had a great time enjoying the cool clear waters of the Galapagos for the last time—it was the perfect way to close out this week.
As we leave Genovesa behind and start navigating towards Baltra Island, I watch as we sail away from the birds staying behind in their peaceful home… and I repeat in my mind the words that we always say: tomorrow you might be leaving the Galapagos, but the Galapagos will never leave you.
