Genovesa
Our last full day in the Galápagos will be spent on the spectacular northern island of Genovesa, also known by the English name of Tower, and one of the most pristine islands in the archipelago. This will represent an overwhelming seabird experience. From frigate birds, red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies and swallow-tailed gulls to storm petrels and tropicbirds, this low, brushy island serves as a beacon to winged ocean wanderers. Early in the morning we will be entering via a narrow, shallow underwater channel into the bay, a huge submerged caldera of this ancient dormant volcano, with bird calls everywhere. For this entrance, the National Geographic Islander must line up navigation markers on land, a tricky maneuver and quite interesting to follow.
After a wet landing at Darwin Bay we headed out for a hike on a sandy path and also a rocky one, fabulous wildlife at every step, sea lions barking and others resting on the beach, red footed boobies nesting, flying, incubating, and more ceremonies.
Just on the sand nests the only nocturnal sea gull on earth, the swallow tailed gull. Many chicks were there being fed and carefully attended to by their parents; their large eyes just beautiful. We are so happy to be seeing so many of them.
After the hike we come on board to change for the next outing, snorkeling, where the water is so rich in underwater life that to do so is a privilege. Playing sea lions, timid fur seals, turtles, and many different types of fish are present here. Even a giant manta ray came around to show us its majesty and elegance when flying through the water.
The afternoon site is reached by Zodiac, following the steep walls of Darwin Bay to the far side where tropicbirds and other nesting seabirds, as well as Galápagos fur seals, may be seen. The landing site is known as Prince Philip's Steps, after the Duke of Edinburgh who visited in the 1960s.
The trail leads those adventurous among us for a steep climb up a narrow fissure to the cliff top (about 90 ft elevation) for a lovely hike along fairly level terrain, although the surface of old, cracked lava is not flat! We follow the trail through a Palo Santo forest to a storm petrel colony, passing boobies and frigates along the way. We got to see the amazing short-eared owl waiting to catch a storm petrel which are here are by the thousands, as well as many sea birds and even some fur seals basking on the rocks after or before the hunt of the day. All this accompanied by a spectacular sunset ended another beautiful day in the Galápagos.
