After navigating all night long and crossing the Equator Line south to north, we arrived at Genovesa, or Tower Island, one of the northern islands in the archipelago. An impressive caldera has been opened to the sea and we anchored inside this stunning geological formation.
In the morning we went to the outer decks to observe hundreds of red-footed boobies flying above us! Genovesa is a paradise for birds. In fact, more than half a million birds live here.
Some of us went by kayak to explore the caldera walls, where we found some very well-hidden fur seals. Then we all disembarked at Darwin Bay on a beautiful white-sand beach covered with red mangroves. These trees were occupied by Nazca boobies, red-footed boobies, swallow-tailed gulls and frigatebirds, all in different stages of their nesting cycle. We had seen frigatebirds in flight but today we were able to see them close up.
On Genovesa, we also had the opportunity to see a new variety of prickly-pear cactus. Featuring spines as soft as hair, this cactus evolved without predators such as land reptiles.
While other guests enjoyed the rest of the morning on the beach, snorkelers left Darwin Bay to go swimming along the caldera. In the afternoon we went to Prince Philip’s Steps with the important goal of finding the short-eared owl. We went straight to a cliff where thousands of storm petrels come to nest. Owls love to feed on petrels, so what better place to start our search? Success: we spotted two owls from a distance!
Finally we went back on board to behold the sunset coloring the walls of the caldera. What a way to end our week in Galapagos!
