Genovesa Island
As we got up this morning, we found our ship surrounded by the most interesting scenery of the week, the very center of a caldera that makes Genovesa Island. The early morning light gave us a good opportunity to see the walls of the crater that collapsed a few million years ago.
Genovesa is located in the northernmost part of the archipelago, quite distant from any of the central islands we have visited in the past few days. Due to isolation, land reptiles have not arrived here yet… but sea birds, being very good island colonizers, have done so; there are millions of birds around this place, so the island does deserve the name of “Bird Island,” like in the mystery movies of Alfred Hitchcock.
Swallow-tailed gulls, Nazca boobies, great and magnificent frigatebirds are the highlight of the day. The colorful red-footed boobies, together with the contrasting landscape, give this place a special kind of atmosphere; its own unfamiliar kind of beauty makes a strong impression in all of us.
The white coralline beach with red mangroves is where we started our walk today; the red mangroves are the nesting place for most of the red-footed boobies found on Darwin Bay. Due to the heat, male frigatebirds had their pouches half-way inflated, but that did not stop them from calling for the attention of the difficult females that flew around them without even looking at them.
Prince Philip’s steps are made of out of volcanic rocks and climbing them takes us up the cliff, where we find ourselves surrounded again by lava plateaus that have been conquered by Palo Santo trees. On this side of the island they are the nesting territory of more red-foots.
On the open lava flows we find thousands of storm petrels that are covering the sky; at a first glimpse they look like those clouds of mosquitos that are normally found in jungle areas. Its incredible to see how much activity these birds go through as they come here to nest; their predator, the short-eared owl, who lives in lava tubes, quietly waits for them on the open field, looking for the perfect time to attack.
What a special day we have had, just the perfect way to end our expedition around this magical archipelago. The images of the day, we are sure, will remain in our heads for the rest of our lives…
