The island of Genovesa is one of the northern formations of the archipelago. Today we landed on Darwin’s Bay which is a sandy beach made of broken pieces of coral surrounded by the eroded cliffs of the caldera. This is the habitat of many species of seabirds, so this island is also known as “bird Island.” As we started the walk we found many swallow-tail gulls feeding their immature chicks that were constantly begging for food. It was just amazing to see the numbers of red-footed boobies doing different things. There were couples beginning their courtship, others making nests, some chicks in the nests, and a lot of immature birds wanting to jump off the trees. These last birds were particularly interesting since we could see on their faces how they were nervous about this, probably their first jump. It was also interesting to learn that the ocean currents have not brought the land reptiles normally found on the central islands so as a result of it, we could only find here the marine iguanas that are actually within the smallest of the entire islands. As a result of the land reptile’s absence the cacti is not spending energy in making strong spines—the spines today were as soft as hair.  

Snorkelers got ready to get into very nice calm water. The water visibility was good enough to see some of the fish that we have not seen before. Moorish Idols and guinea fowl puffers kept playing hide and seek around the rocks. During the snorkel we also had the opportunity to get very close to the fur seals that were resting on the rocks.  

After lunch in the afternoon, we took a hike at the magical world hidden at Prince Philip’s steps. Since the very beginning of the visit, all the sea birds again kept us looking everywhere. Nazca boobies and their chicks were just another part of the marvels that Mother Nature showed us today.   

As we reached the other side of the cliff, over the open lava flow, we started to look for the mainland predator of this island, the short-eared owl. We found evidence of its presence in the area like carcasses of their prey, pellets regurgitated made of feathers and bones of storm petrels. 

As we got back to ship at sunset time, we felt that this week here on these islands really has been like a week in paradise.