Darwin Bay and Prince Philip’s Steps, Genovesa Island, 3/8/2025, National Geographic Islander II
Aboard the
National Geographic Islander II
Galápagos
During our outings today, guests of National Geographic Islander II explored the only two visitor sites on Genovesa Island, Darwin Bay and Prince Philip’s Steps. Highlights of the day included the many red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, and great frigatebirds that we encountered along the trails.
Salvador Cazar studied biology at the Universidad Nacional Del Sur, Bahía Blanca, in Argentina and at the Catholic University of Ecuador. Between 1988 and 1994, Salvador worked as a naturalist and tour leader for several national and international to...
Genovesa Island is a sensory delight. In the morning, we spent time on a sandy trail at Darwin Bay, where the absolute best of the Galapagos can be seen. This time of year – April – is extra spectacular with nesting red-footed boobies, great frigatebirds, swallow-tailed gulls with chicks, lava gulls, and sea lions with pups. Snorkeling was our last chance to see the underwater realm of the Galapagos before flying back to civilization tomorrow. Calm waters off the beach allowed for long minutes without human sounds. We were successful in finding a short-eared owl. The owls hunt during the day, adapting to their prey’s diurnal habits. This island is…extraordinary in an already extraordinary place.
During a relaxing pre-breakfast kayak at Chinese Hat, we had a chance to snorkel near sea lions and whitetip reef sharks. We learned about geological features, including cinder cones or tuff cones and a bunch of lava flows from about 200 years ago. We had our lovely Andean lunch in the same area, and then we moved the ship all the way to another side of Santiago Island called Sullivan Bay. We hiked around lava fields and enjoyed insane looks at desert lava flows and the alien landscape that welcomed us to another great day of adventure.
With a very relaxing stroll in the morning at Darwin’s Bay on Genovesa, our day started. A very relaxing snorkel followed at the cove. In the afternoon, we finished a beautiful week on board with a visit to Prince Phillip’s Steps where we relaxed a little bit with an easy hike as well as observed waders and fur sea lions.
