Genovesa Island
Visiting the most northeastern island of the Galápagos has been an enthralling experience. All our guests were expecting – as it was advertised – to see many birds, but what we found on Genovesa was more than anyone was expecting.
Great frigate birds and red-footed boobies were perched in virtually every branch, and the Nazca boobies whitened the ground there at Darwin Beach. The whistles and honks belonging to the boobies came from all directions as did the squeaks from mockingbirds and finches – it made us wonder and celebrate our good fortune to be here there. It was overwhelming and we enjoyed it very much.
At mid-morning we were engaged in our last snorkeling of this week, and in spite of knowing that, we surrendered our senses to what was there; the ocean in its immensity, the manta rays and all the other fish that were around made a perfect ending to an already unimaginable experience.
But that was not all. In the afternoon we took our chance to visit “the cliff,” a distant trail, near the far end of the island where we had a close encounter with the solemn and cute short-eared owl. These birds are considered the top predators here and five of them were found to be hunting in the area.
Once we finished our exploration and returned to the National Geographic Islander, the top deck bar was opened and as the boat left the bay, we enjoyed seeing the sunset. Besides the beauty of the moment, it was an instant of embellishment for our souls.
