Today we started our week’s expedition around the Galapagos Islands on board National Geographic Delfina. We anchored within a partially sunken caldera, amid a dramatic landscape full of cliffs, vegetation, a vast ocean and a small beach. This is Genovesa, the island of a million birds.
In the morning we hiked at Prince Philip's Steps, where we found an incredible number of species right from the start. Frigatebirds with their red pouch inflated, Nazca boobies, mockingbirds, and one of the highlights: the red-footed booby. As we observed and continued the hike around the lava plateau, we looked for the elusive short-eared owl, a difficult species to find due to its color that camouflages with the brown rocks. But this time we succeeded in our mission and got to see one individual, with prey that had recently been hunted.
In the afternoon we enjoyed a relaxing time at Darwin Bay. We watched wildlife and practiced snorkeling from the beach, to be ready for a week full of snorkeling and adventure.
