Genovesa Island
We spent the whole day in Genovesa, but a day is not enough. There are so many birds, so many amazing landscapes and so many fish.
This morning we landed on a tiny beach, but crowded with incredible creatures, from the smallest marine iguanas in Galápagos to the endemic and nocturnal swallow-tailed gulls. Red-footed boobies were some of the morning highlights, but one of my favorite sightings today was the view of several gigantic Galápagos sharks form the very top of the cliffs. We had walked along a lava trail, and at the very end of it we contemplated, not only the immensity of the caldera, but several sharks swimming underneath us. From our perspective they probably looked larger than what they really were. They looked at least 12-foot long and they probably were no less than ten.
Rather that feeling intimidated by the view of huge cartilaginous fish, we felt eager to jump in the water and be closer. It is not every day that one has the chance to snorkel in “shark infested” waters, with the top predators of the sea. Especially when we know that in Galápagos, no one fears sharks, there is nothing to fear, they have plenty of fish to eat! So we got in the water, we saw them together with schools of golden rays.
In the afternoon, as well as in the morning, we found several frigate birds. They flew above us, they landed on trees, they fed their chicks, and a couple, like this male in the picture, showed their breeding pouch to us. It’s not the breeding season though, but that did not mean anything to this enthusiastic male.
As I said, one day in Genovesa should have more than 24 hours. A day is too short for the many wonders of this beautiful island.
We spent the whole day in Genovesa, but a day is not enough. There are so many birds, so many amazing landscapes and so many fish.
This morning we landed on a tiny beach, but crowded with incredible creatures, from the smallest marine iguanas in Galápagos to the endemic and nocturnal swallow-tailed gulls. Red-footed boobies were some of the morning highlights, but one of my favorite sightings today was the view of several gigantic Galápagos sharks form the very top of the cliffs. We had walked along a lava trail, and at the very end of it we contemplated, not only the immensity of the caldera, but several sharks swimming underneath us. From our perspective they probably looked larger than what they really were. They looked at least 12-foot long and they probably were no less than ten.
Rather that feeling intimidated by the view of huge cartilaginous fish, we felt eager to jump in the water and be closer. It is not every day that one has the chance to snorkel in “shark infested” waters, with the top predators of the sea. Especially when we know that in Galápagos, no one fears sharks, there is nothing to fear, they have plenty of fish to eat! So we got in the water, we saw them together with schools of golden rays.
In the afternoon, as well as in the morning, we found several frigate birds. They flew above us, they landed on trees, they fed their chicks, and a couple, like this male in the picture, showed their breeding pouch to us. It’s not the breeding season though, but that did not mean anything to this enthusiastic male.
As I said, one day in Genovesa should have more than 24 hours. A day is too short for the many wonders of this beautiful island.
