We wound up Genovesa Island, Part I with a picture of a baby Booby. If you haven’t seen it already, pop down to the last post and take a look. I’ll wait.
Wasn’t it cute?
I have a funny story about the baby Boobies on Genovesa. Our naturalist guide was always showing us stuff we considered uniquely incredible, and Genovesa was no different. He spotted a baby Booby nested in a bush, and he had us gather around while he showed us how well he had the babies “trained.” If you stand in front of a baby Booby and move your finger up and down, or around in circles, its eyes and head will follow your finger. So at first we thought only Harry could do this. But then my husband tried it, and the baby Booby followed my husband’s finger, too. It was quite comical.
The video is on my Facebook page. I would embed it here, but I tried and the embedding follows the privacy settings on Facebook and also comes out huge. So it would behoove me to behoove you to visit my author page, click “Like” while you’re there, click on Photos, then click on Videos, then click on Baby Booby Being a Bobo. It’s a short, 4-second video, but very cute.
While you’re there, feel free to explore the other Galapagos videos on the page.
Last time I said we saw our first Red-Footed Boobies on Genovesa Island. There’s one above. Beautiful blue beak and those lovely red feet! There were no Blue-Footed Boobies on Genovesa, which worried me. Would we see them again? The following day, on Sullivan Island, we had Blue-Footed Boobies coming out our ears.
The view from Genovesa. Even the Boobies in the foreground were awed by the simplicity of this beautiful spot on earth. ALL those little black dots are birds, birds, birds, flying around us, whizzing past us, diving into the water. Our guide would shout, “Look!” and then “Look!” Harry’s enthusiasm was contagious. It was a look-fest!
When I saw this young Magnificent Frigatebird (not to be confused with the Great Frigatebirds showed in Part I – those guys have the red pouches), I was quite alarmed.
“Is it dead?” I asked Harry.
“No.” Harry shook his head. “Bad landing.”
Bad landing? In another few seconds, the juvenile got up, shook itself off, and flew away. Apparently, it was merely “practicing.” All birds who experience “bad landings” are not as lucky. Some might break a wing (which we saw on Espanola during Week 2 of our trip). Those who do damage themselves too much will wind up starving to death. They are culled, so to speak. Survival of the fittest. Darwinism at work. Sad to realize, but that’s the reality of wildlife everywhere, not just in the Galapagos.
Not totally sure, but this might be a Lava Heron. It looks like Phyllis Diller sporting a new wig. Can’t let those Boobies hog all the camera time!
Leaving “The Cliff” and on our way to lunch, after which we visited Darwin Bay for snorkeling and swimming. Whereas, at “The Cliff” we felt all alone in the world with the birds, at Darwin Bay we had to share the beautiful beach with two other boats. “Awwwwww.” However, we are not greedy. We were willing to share.
The beach where we swam. Now you see why I needed two posts to accurately portray the beauty of Genovesa Island? Some of our group snorkeled, while LP and That Woman from Arizona swam back to the boat. SK and BP, I believe, took a panga ride back to the boat to have cervezas. Meanwhile, Moi and That Man from Arizona floated around in the water and enjoyed the sun. A bird nearly “deposited” on me. However, I am so dexterous, I dodged the bullet.
Ahhhhhh, Genovesa Island. My favorite island of Week 1 of our two-week Galapagos Island cruise last April. If you look on a map, Genovesa appears out of the way. And it is. Also known as Tower Island, it’s the furthest island you can visit (by that I mean stop and climb up and have a look around). The other “far out” islands, Marchena and Pinta, are off-limits to tourists, although you might find diving tours that will take you to them and allow you to dive in the nearby waters (like with Wolf and Darwin, two acclaimed diving islands in the G.I.), but you can’t disembark onto the northern islands themselves. Aside from Genovesa.
For this reason alone, when I chose the boat for our cruise, I restricted my choices to those that included Genovesa Island in their itineraries. I would love to visit the Galapagos Islands again, but the sad fact is I probably won’t. Unless I win the lottery and/or decide to take up diving and return to explore the diving sites. Not because I didn’t love the Islands—my memories of my Galapagos adventures will live with me until I’m in the ground—but because there are so many other places in the world I want to see…and I started the travel game a little late in life.
Ahhhh, Genovesa, I’d love to touch your “shores” again!
I can not stress enough how much I enjoyed Genovesa Island. How much I would encourage you to include it in your Galapagos travel plans. Honestly, it’s not to be missed (Travel Tip Tip TIP!). The only island that came close in terms of bird life was Espanola, which we visited on Week 2 of our cruise. Espanola is amazing. But only Genovesa is Genovesa. Genovesa made me feel, at times, like I was in a Hitchcock film. I took a little video called “Birds, Birds, Birds” which you can access on my Facebook page (click that link to visit the page, then click “like” ON the page, then click the Photos link, then click the “Videos” link, then click “Birds, Birds, Birds.”) The video gives you an idea of the “mood” of Genovesa. Our guide was instructing us about cactus life and I was enthralled with the birds swarming above me. Bad, I know. I could not help myself. At one point, we just stood there as a group (after encountering various forms of bird life during our walk) and watched and listened in silence as nature blossomed in her glory around us. If you visit Espanola before visiting Genovesa, I dunno, the effect of Genovesa might not be the same. Except, something stood out on Genovesa that we didn’t encounter anywhere else. And that was the fun of getting there.
We needed to climb “El Barranco,” otherwise known as Prince Philip’s Steps or “The Cliff” to reach the top of Genovesa (which was flat once we arrived). I don’t have a picture of us approaching the Island in the pangas, but here’s one of the steps we had to descend again at the end:
No wonder it’s called The Cliff! If you look real close, you can see the steps leading up (and down) the cliff. Here’s a closer look when we were on our way up:A little Cindiana Jones-ish, is it not? Yes, those are stairs carved from stone. Or stones used as steps, depending on the circumstance. I would not recommend letting go of the hand railing, especially if you do not possess an excellent sense of balance. Just the thought of the domino effect of all those tourists falling backward onto one another makes me shudder!On Genovesa, we saw our first frigatebirds. These guys hang around in the trees like guys hanging out at the bar waiting for a hot chick to stroll (or fly) by. Because they’re on the look-out for a mate. But it can’t be just any mate. It has to be a mate who will inspire the male frigatebird to get, uh, “puffy.” When a male frigatebird wants to attract a female, that little red chicken-skin-like sac beneath his chin expands thus:Show off! All he does is sit there and wait for the female frigatebirds to admire him. Well, I’m sure that’s not all he does, but that’s how he gets started.These are Nazca or Masked Boobies. We hadn’t seen Boobies since our first glimpse of Blue-Footed Bobbies at Elizabeth Bay, Isabela Island. The Masked Boobies don’t have red or blue feet (yes, there are Red-Footed Boobies), but they are remarkable to watch regardless, because, like the other birds on Genovesa Island (or anywhere in the Galapagos that has Boobies) you can get very, very close to them. It’s like a living museum of wildlife. Where else can you get this close to animals or bird life unless they’re stuffed and on display or unless they’re in a cage or behind bars?Above, evidence of how close you can get to a Booby (without touching it) on Genovesa Island. They simply do not give a rip that you’re there. They’re not stupid. They walk cute, and they make the most adorable babies! But they’re just getting on with life, and, as far as they’re concerned, so are you. Amazing.
The problem with Genovesa Island (if you’re the sort who needs to find a “problem”) is that it’s a photographer’s paradise. I could not stop taking pictures. Which means Day 12/7 is another on our trip that demands, simply demands, I tell you, two posts. Which means you must come back another day to explore the rest of Genovesa. Don’t worry, I won’t make you wait as long this time. Until then…
“I am a baby Booby! Am I not chicken-soup cute? Who the heck are YOU?”
There are those who thought I’d never return to my travel blogging about our three-week adventure in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands back in April. Some of you doubted me. Most of you doubted me. “Cindy’s forgotten us,” you thought. “That damn Cindy has left us hanging.”
I would never do that. I might take a break, but I would never hang anyone.
It is kind of unfortunate, however, that I took my travel-blogging break in the middle of a travel day. If you want to see what happened during the morning of Day 6 in the Galapagos (Day 11 in Ecuador), follow this handy-dandy link. Hint: We visited James Bay (otherwise known as Egas Port), Santiago Island. It was a totally amazing experience. Really, follow the link!
Okay, got that settled? You’ve followed the links, refreshed your memory, and now you want to know if I remember the rest of the trip? This is why we take pictures, my friends. Pictures bring back memories. And what I’ve forgotten, well, you know I’ll just make up. Let’s not call this an annoying aspect of my writerly personality. Let’s call it an Adventure for Your Brain! If you doubt the veracity of my anecdotes, you can research the facts yourselves. An excellent source is the new Galapagos Island travel blog started by naturalist Harry Jimenez, who was the guide during our foursome’s two-week cruise aboard the Cormorant. Harry blogs about the Galapagos experience as a whole. I’m blogging about my personal experiences. You can be assured he knows more than I do. But I’m cuter. You can make your decision from there.
Now, as I was kind of aware of before we left for our cruise, but as I became very aware of during our cruise, every island in the Galapagos has at least two names. In my posts, I use the island names I learned. In other words, the island names Harry J. told us during his evening lectures. For example, Santiago Island is also known as San Salvador (named after the first island Christopher Columbus discovered) and it’s also known as James Island. Santiago means “St. James.”
I prefer to use the Spanish island names. My mother has a Spanish first name and so does one of my aunts. They both have Spanish surnames, as did my maternal grandfather. So, you could surmise that I have a wee bit of Spanish blood, courtesy of my ancestors falling off the fleet of the Spanish Armada when Spain attempted to invade England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (at least that’s my story of how they came to land in England).
Well, there you have it. I am a mutt. Mostly English, some Dutch Mennonite by way of Russia, and about 5 other tidbits including Spanish. My husband says I can lay claim to nearly every nationality in the world, which ticks him off. But there it is. I can not help it if I’m a mutt!
After cruising around Egas Port (James Bay) on Santiago Island, we had a chance to snorkel at Espumilla Beach. This was one of our best snorkel days. All the snorkel pictures are Photo Credit: BP. This first photo is of a fish we were advised not to touch. Because see those three little dots near its tail? Take a look:
Apparently, those dots are very sharp and can cut you. I did not remember this from the previous evening’s lecture. I was reminded of it during the presentation following the snorkel. Fat lot of good that did me. Not that I tried to touch the beautiful blue fishies! But I certainly loved swimming amid them a lot:Gorgeous! Now, who can name this pretty blue (if sharp) fish? I probably could, but that would require some research. If you can name it, I’ll toss you some chum the next time you’re around a shark.Another lovely fish! I’m sure it has a proper name. I like to call it “yellow fish with blue.”Another sea lion! We saw a lot swimming past us on this snorkel. My advice? Don’t try to catch the “air bubbles.” Because they might not be “air bubbles.” They might be something else, as certain other members of our party discovered (Travel Tip!). “Ewww, did you see what he just squirted?”
If watching sea lions frolic bores you, the one thing about snorkeling in the Galapagos is that you will never be bored for long. Just stick your head out of the water, and there’s a pelican!
“Well, hello.” Then dip your mask beneath the water again, and next thing you know, you’re spotting a ray:Ray likes to be cool. Ray lounges along the ocean bottom pretending he’s the Starship Enterprise. He does not disguise himself as a shark. He leaves that to the sharks:Okay, it’s not a Great White. No need for fear in the Galapagos. Only admiration.A “sea star.” See, I can remember stuff.
We were having so much fun snorkeling that at first we didn’t notice it had started to rain, rain, and more rain. The sound of rain hitting the water while you’re exploring beneath is rather relaxing. Then you realize that the water is getting colder. Then you realize that your group is abandoning you! So we all clambered aboard the pangas and zippied back to the Cormorant. You can see the second panga following us in the picture below. The Cormorant was way, way ahead of us. We had quite a chilly ride and really appreciated the crew’s hospitality upon our return.
Hot showers would have been quite lovely! However, this was around the time the water machine decided to go kaput. While we still had plenty of water, it was at a premium. Our next stop was supposed to be Buccanneer Cove, where British buccanneers would drop anchor in a picturesque bay and stock up on tortoise meat (I know, the horror, but it was a different time). There are several beautiful rock formations at Buccanneer Cove, and our itinerary called for a stop and a short walk along the sandy beach. However, considering the pouring rain and that we needed to hightail it back toward Santa Cruz to pick up parts before our next adventure at the amazing Genovesa Island, we were more than happy to have our guide point out the Buccanneer Cove rock formations from the “sun deck” of the catamaran:Good-bye, Buccanneer Cove! It was a “fleeting” adventure. However, a lovely sunset awaited us, plus the promise of Genovesa, which we would visit the next day.Just another evening in paradise!
