Genovesa Island
As the sun rose at the horizon, we could clearly see the island of Genovesa revealing its flat shape at the distance. It was early in the morning and as we approached the island, more and more birds were joining the good ship Polaris in her journey to the island’s main caldera. It was a long time ago when the island’s crater collapsed and the ocean water poured into its interior, providing the most perfect and protected area for our anchoring. Right after breakfast, our wet landing on the beach exposed the largest amount of birds that we had seen during the whole week. Frigate birds with the red pouches and red-footed boobies were definitely the highlights of the day. There was not a single bush or tree that didn’t have a land or sea bird on it, or at least the distinctive white wanno on the branches proving its former used!
The warm waters of the bay felt really inviting, so snorkeling was almost mandatory. The long and protected wall along the caldera provided a secure spot for our snorkeling, disclosing an abundant marine ecosystem on the area. Even a manta ray was encountered by some of our guests, swimming gently along side the cliff.
The afternoon outing at Prince Philip steps gave us a different perspective of the island. The walk through the Palo Santo forest showed us a large amount of sea birds nesting on the canopy of the trees. The highlight of the afternoon was the two short-eared owls that were spotted flying on the surroundings. These birds are one of the few owls in the world that would show a diurnal behavior. Having no competition with other birds of prey on the island, they had declare themselves the king predators of the area.
Once again everyone’s expectations for the day were fulfilled, which I have to admit it is not difficult to accomplish when you visit a place like this; after all, we are in the enchanted islands of the Galápagos!
As the sun rose at the horizon, we could clearly see the island of Genovesa revealing its flat shape at the distance. It was early in the morning and as we approached the island, more and more birds were joining the good ship Polaris in her journey to the island’s main caldera. It was a long time ago when the island’s crater collapsed and the ocean water poured into its interior, providing the most perfect and protected area for our anchoring. Right after breakfast, our wet landing on the beach exposed the largest amount of birds that we had seen during the whole week. Frigate birds with the red pouches and red-footed boobies were definitely the highlights of the day. There was not a single bush or tree that didn’t have a land or sea bird on it, or at least the distinctive white wanno on the branches proving its former used!
The warm waters of the bay felt really inviting, so snorkeling was almost mandatory. The long and protected wall along the caldera provided a secure spot for our snorkeling, disclosing an abundant marine ecosystem on the area. Even a manta ray was encountered by some of our guests, swimming gently along side the cliff.
The afternoon outing at Prince Philip steps gave us a different perspective of the island. The walk through the Palo Santo forest showed us a large amount of sea birds nesting on the canopy of the trees. The highlight of the afternoon was the two short-eared owls that were spotted flying on the surroundings. These birds are one of the few owls in the world that would show a diurnal behavior. Having no competition with other birds of prey on the island, they had declare themselves the king predators of the area.
Once again everyone’s expectations for the day were fulfilled, which I have to admit it is not difficult to accomplish when you visit a place like this; after all, we are in the enchanted islands of the Galápagos!
