Today we started our day anchored in the caldera of Genovesa Island, known as Darwin’s Bay, named after the most prominent visitor of this archipelago. After breakfast we made our way to the disembarkation area on the beach of Darwin’s Bay and we found the sky covered with birds. That’s where the island got the name – the sea birds’ island. After landing on a beach covered with small pieces of broken coral, we started our short hike. The place was absolutely beautiful, loaded with different species of sea birds such as frigate birds, swallow tailed gull, Nazca and Red footed boobies and night crowned herons. It was an unforgettable experience.
Later we headed back to the National Geographic Islander to get ready for our next morning activity, snorkeling in the inner rim of the caldera. In the water all of our guests were impressed by the diversity of fish that we found there. We spotted parrotfish, Moorish idols, damsel fish, spotted eagle rays, mobula rays and even hammerhead sharks. What an amazing way to say goodbye to the Galapagos marine wildlife!
In the afternoon we visited the Prince’s Phillip Steps visitor’s site. There we found a dramatic landscape created by old lava flows covered with many species of sea birds. During our hike we learned how ecological niches are occupied by organisms that we don’t have in this archipelago. A good example of this are the short eared owls that took the position of the diurnal predator in Genovesa, looking after the abundant Galapagos storm petrels that nest on this Island. We spotted several of them!
It’s incredible how the time flies we you are surrounded by nature, good company and having a lot of fun. It was another great week in paradise.
