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Introduction
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For more information about upcoming workshops, visit the Workshops homepage or send an email to grijalva@ohiou.edu |
Isla Genovesa (Tower) By Deborah Freund
In the afternoon we walked along the shore, snapping pictures of nursing sea lion pups, downy booby chicks, and brilliant, orange Sally Lightfoot crabs. The trail was rough enough that we felt like intrepid explorers, trekking across lava flows and clambering over volcanic boulders. At the farthest point, we sat down and just looked out to sea, talking, taking photos and relaxing.
With the sun setting, we boarded the pangas and headed back to the boat.
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Our first full day
in the Galapagos was spent on the island of Genovesa, also called Tower.
Genovesa lies at the northern limits of the archepelago and is one of the
smallest and most isolated of the main islands. It is what remains of a
single volcano; probably never very high, but now worn down to a low and
arid paradise for sea birds. Genovesa may be the only place that you can
snorkel inside a volcano. Darwin Bay was formed when one wall of the cone
was breached by the ocean, allowing ships to enter the crater itself and
giving visitors the opportunity to swim and snorkel along the steep walls.
The die-hard snorkelers in our group went out twice! On our right there was
a fantastic variety of fish, along with pencil urchins, small yellow
anemones and starfish. On the other side, a deep, cloudy emptiness that
stretched down, down, down. A little eerie, but exciting at the same time.
Our morning walk was
on “El Barranaco”. We climbed Prince Phillip's Steps, a long set of lava
steps that led us up the cliff, and dumped us out into another world
altogether. There were birds everywhere... on the ground, in bushes, in the
trees, wheeling above our heads. Male Greater Frigate birds, with huge red
pouches puffed out under their beaks, sat on bushes and looked skyward
hopefully; stretching out their wings and calling loudly to advertise their
availability to the females flying past. Nazca Boobies stood around
everywhere, in pairs or singly, waddeling around with a comically exagerated
goose-step. Red Footed Boobies perched in the leafless Palo Santo trees,
watching us as we passed by. The scene was absolutely surreal, and the most
amazing part of it all was that the birds seemed absolutely oblivious to our
presence. They didn't fly away; they didn't even walk away. In fact, they
sometimes even approached us, taking a closer look at our shoes or
inspecting our water bottles. You don't need a telephoto lens here. Shoot as
many pictures as you want and stand close enough that the bird fills the
frame. They will pose and pose again. They will feed their babies,
reposition their eggs, preen their feathers, and perform bonding rituals
with their mates; and all while you watch.
On the way back, I
stayed behind to watch a male Nazca Booby bring little pebbles and sticks to
his mate who was incubating an egg. Back and forth he went, selecting some,
rejecting others. Each prize was carefully presented for inspection, then
placed carefully with the other rubble ringing the nest. He did this for 15
or 20 minutes without stopping, back and forth, back and forth. I'm sure he
did it for even longer, but our guide, Charlie, was calling, “Daphne!
Daphne!”, our cue to line up like ducklings and follow behind him.