Genovesa Island
Today we woke up inside the caldera on the island of Genovesa, also known as Tower. We had a pre-breakfast kayak outing and the guests had fun. After breakfast half of the group went to visit Prince Philips Steps. Once we landed we had the opportunity to see a full courtship display of the great frigatebirds, red-footed boobies and Nazca boobies. Wow!
We also saw Galápagos mockingbirds, sharp-billed ground finches and of course, due to the rainy season, the vegetation was very lush. We kept walking to the lava field, inhabited by hundreds and hundreds of Galápagos storm petrels. It almost seems a black cloud is formed by these tiny little birds. Of course the short-eared owl, which preys on storm petrels, also lives here and we were lucky because we saw five of them, and were able to observe them hunting.
It was amazing how the female frigatebird flew over the males and drove them crazy. As soon as she flew over, the males got excited and started to perform, as if saying,, “it’s me honey, it’s me.”
On the way back to the ship we were able to see the Galápagos sea lions and the Galápagos fur seals, which were hunted in the early 1900s for their skins. Then we got ready to go snorkeling inside the caldera. Here we saw lots of tropical fish and we were lucky to see hammerhead sharks. That was a good finale for the trip.
After lunch, Sofia, our expedition leader, organized a kayak regatta with teams formed by guests, crew members and naturalists. Unfortunately, we lost and the guests won. It was fun, and the kids enjoyed it very much. Right after this we went to visit Darwin Bay, where we saw the all the birds that inhabit Genovesa. Finally there was time for everyone to swim at the beach and say bye-bye to the Galápagos.
What an expedition and until next time, please enjoy life!