In the afternoon, we went for a hike to Prince Philip’s Steps. This was such a successful exploration since we observed the short-eared owl, a typically nocturnal species that became diurnal on this Island due to the absence of its competitor, the Galapagos hawk. We finished our last full day in the Galapagos by celebrating with a toast onboard National Geographic Islander.
Today we woke up in Darwin’s Bay off Genovesa Island. This collapsed caldera is a unique place where thousands of seabirds can be observed in their different life stages. We disembarked in the morning for a natural history walk on the beach at Darwin’s Bay. We had a close look at red-footed boobies, one of the three species of boobies that nest in the Galapagos. We also observed Nazca boobies, frigatebirds, swallow-tailed gulls, and lava gulls. We had the opportunity to snorkel with Galapagos fur seals, the second species of sea lion that guests were expecting to see during this trip.
