Genovesa Island, otherwise known as Tower Island, is home to over one million seabirds. The highlights of our visit today were diverse, from Nazca, red-footed and blue-footed boobies, to gulls, owls, fur seals, hammerheads sharks, turtles and manta rays.
Our adventure began early, with an optional pre-breakfast kayak outing. Afterwards, we had a walk that took us up the famous Prince Philip’s Steps, where we were surrounded by Nazca boobies, red-footed boobies and frigatebirds. My colleague Fernando was the hero of the day, because he spotted the first elusive short-ear owl of the day! All of us felt rewarded to catch a glimpse of this unique bird, a diurnal raptor, and we even saw one in flight, searching for pray. Today was a “red-footed booby day,” but we were also able to spot frigatebirds with the iconic red gular-pouch, displayed by the bachelors that were eager to be selected by a female.
Back aboard, we prepared for our last snorkeling—our last chance to explore the undersea realm. Today we had close encounters with many fish and playful sea lions for the last time, and seeing them up close brought excitement and admiration.
After this great adventure, we came back to our ship to be briefed about our departure and to enjoy our last delicious lunch—the pride of our excellent culinary staff.
We were then ready to start off on our next adventure, which was a landing on a white coralline beach inside Darwin Bay; named by a celebrity visitor, William Beebe, in honor of a great naturalist who re-directed human thought, Charles Darwin. It was low tide, and so we were able to walk over a platform surrounded by birds of all kinds. It was moving to watch the parent birds taking care of the young juveniles, hoping that one day they can fend for themselves. We were also happy to find a few marine iguanas, which are smaller and darker as this island, as the northern hemisphere has much different ecology from what we’ve seen so far.
Taking this walk was like being transported back in time. There were birds flying all over, like in prehistoric times, and the lava formations resembled the first foundation of Earth. Later, it was time to return to the ship and reminisce about the many experiences of this wonderful week. As we look back and gaze at the islands for the last time, this place now seems to be timeless to us. Our experience this week on these special islands has been unforgettable—it is now deep within our hearts, these memories of a place where the wildlife that has no fear, and it allows us to realize that we are not so different from these creatures.
“We must not acknowledge the methodical saying ‘don’t humanize the animals’ but instead ‘animalize the human’ by perceiving our surrounding with all our senses; embracing nature by coexistence and respect for one another, so we can become one with nature as we once were.” Celso Montalvo.
We have all bonded this week, like a family, united by this invisible mysticism. At the end of our journey, we hope to stay in touch, and we hope that the experiences of this week will stay with our guests for a lifetime.
Adios amigos.
