Day: September 6, 2012

Galapagos, Day 12: Genovesa Island, Part I

Ecuador Trip: Day 12

Galapagos Cruise: Day 7

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?”