Now This Is Jurassic Park (Or. . .Prince Phillip’s Steps)

Multiple times on the expeditions, people would exclaim, “This is Jurassic Park,” especially at the lava on Sullivan Bay.

But, when I reached the top of the Prince Phillip’s Steps and gazed over the prehistoric landscape filled with massive seabirds, I boldly proclaimed, “Now THIS is Jurassic Park.”  By the murmurs of agreement and assent from my fellow travelers (Editor’s Note: There you go again) it seemed they agreed with me.  It was a stunning panorama of terrain, flora, and bird fauna.

(Editor’s Note: It’s nice that you chose yourself as the arbiter of what is Jurassic Park.  Blogger: Hey, you had to be there, it is stunning.)

Let’s take a step back first (figuratively, as a literal step back means you plunge ninety steps to your death.).  Prince Phillip’s steps are named after the Duke of Edinburgh used them during a visit to the Galapagos in 1964, when he was sent on a world tour to get away from the press after he had an affair (how in the hell was an affair a good idea?).  It’s a steep 90 steps to climb 80 feet up the cliffs.  Little known fact: Prince Phillip actually visited his steps a second time, in 1981.

The first rock step is quite slick, but everyone kept their footing.  Once beyond the first couple of steps, the climb up wasn’t so bad, especially because the wooden steps also have handrails.  Arriving at the top, the view takes your breath away.  Many seabirds flock around right at the top, and there are more through the 1.2 mile out and back hike.  The hike itself is easy, yet breathtaking.

In the previous post I wrote about the Elusive Galapagos Short Eared Owl (Editor’s Note: “Elusive” is NOT in the name.  Blogger: Yeah, but it should be!) which was quite the highlight.  We saw boobies, frigates, and petrels, as well as gulls and doves as well.  

It felt a bit like we were hiking at the end of the earth, up on 80 foot cliffs with nothing in view but the ocean.  Right at the turnaround point of the hike were five or six Magnificent Frigate birds in various stages of puffery.  

(Editor’s Note: “Magnificent” is also NOT in the name!  Blogger: Gotcha there – “Magnificent” actually is in the name!)

Frigate birds are also known as kleptoparasites (which would be a great name for an indie rock band; ripping off a running Dave Barry line does not make ME a kleptoparasite, it’s a way of honoring his meme).  Anyhoo, they are kleptoparasites because they steal food, baby chicks, and nesting materials from other birds.

That led me to tell this line to others on the trip – “every time other birds see a frigate bird coming, they say, ‘oh, here comes another friggin’ bird!’”

(Editor’s Note: People actually laugh at that?  Blogger: Well, nervously, but yes, they laugh.  Otherwise I wouldn’t have told it to multiple people.  One rule of humor is to never keep puns to yourself, because you never know which ones will work until you try them out.)

There weren’t nearly as many birds as there were in the morning excursion at Darwin Bay beach, but it’s still very compelling hike.  It’s been nine days since we did the hike (did I mention I’m a bit behind on blogging?) and it is still stunning to me how close you can get to the birds.  

We climbed back down Prince Phillip’s steps as the sun was setting in the West (Editor’s Note: Good thing you clarified that the sun sets in the West, many people might not realize that.  Blogger: Okay, you’ve got a point there.) 

We’ve done and seen so many amazing things here in the Galapagos, but I would say Genovesa Island was the most spectacular to me.