Isabela and Fernandina Islands
Today we went to the western relm of the archipelago to visit the youngest islands. This region is one of the most wonderful places; it has massive shield volcanoes and fresh black lava flows. At the same time it is also one of the richest marine areas because of the presence of a cold water upwelling current that is very rich in nutrients.
Our day began in the company of a big pod of common dolphins as we were sailing towards Ecuador volcano located in the northern part of Isabela Island. After a delicious breakfast, we crossed the Equatorial line. The only place to see it is on the screen of the GPS (Global Positioning System) when it turns 0º 00’ 00” and we were all crowed into the bridge watching as the numbers changed.
Once our vessel was anchored we loaded into the Zodiacs for an incredible ride along the coast of Punta Vicente Roca. The scenery was superb, there was a lot of wildlife activity. We found many Galápagos fur seals resting in the shade under huge lava rocks and Nazca and blue-footed boobies were constantly flying above our heads. Galápagos penguins and Pacific sea turtles were observed swimming around our Zodiacs, and a couple of flightless cormorants were involved in their mating ritual in the water.
Some of our guests next went snorkeling and found a great variety of fishes and sea turtles. A few of us even had a penguin swimming with them for a couple of seconds.
We navigated south to reach the northeastern point of Fernandina Island. Enroute we spotted a Bryde’s whale; we stopped to watch it for a little while and got a good look at its distinctly shaped dorsal fin and its spout.
Our afternoon on Fernandina was marvelous. We all enjoyed a wonderful walk on Punta Espinoza where we observed several nesting Galápagos flightless cormorants and very large marine iguanas basking. Some of the iguanas were fighting over territories and the females that go with the best rocks. We have been watching an American oyster catcher that has been nesting for the last 3 weeks. Today it stood up and showed us 2 eggs. Soon those eggs should hatch and we will see the tiny chicks.
To complete our walk, we took a Zodiac cruise along the coast and found some Galápagos penguins just returning from their fishing outings. They were heading towards the lava caves where they will spend the night resting. We returned to the Islander as the sunset with a marvelous golden glow.
Today we went to the western relm of the archipelago to visit the youngest islands. This region is one of the most wonderful places; it has massive shield volcanoes and fresh black lava flows. At the same time it is also one of the richest marine areas because of the presence of a cold water upwelling current that is very rich in nutrients.
Our day began in the company of a big pod of common dolphins as we were sailing towards Ecuador volcano located in the northern part of Isabela Island. After a delicious breakfast, we crossed the Equatorial line. The only place to see it is on the screen of the GPS (Global Positioning System) when it turns 0º 00’ 00” and we were all crowed into the bridge watching as the numbers changed.
Once our vessel was anchored we loaded into the Zodiacs for an incredible ride along the coast of Punta Vicente Roca. The scenery was superb, there was a lot of wildlife activity. We found many Galápagos fur seals resting in the shade under huge lava rocks and Nazca and blue-footed boobies were constantly flying above our heads. Galápagos penguins and Pacific sea turtles were observed swimming around our Zodiacs, and a couple of flightless cormorants were involved in their mating ritual in the water.
Some of our guests next went snorkeling and found a great variety of fishes and sea turtles. A few of us even had a penguin swimming with them for a couple of seconds.
We navigated south to reach the northeastern point of Fernandina Island. Enroute we spotted a Bryde’s whale; we stopped to watch it for a little while and got a good look at its distinctly shaped dorsal fin and its spout.
Our afternoon on Fernandina was marvelous. We all enjoyed a wonderful walk on Punta Espinoza where we observed several nesting Galápagos flightless cormorants and very large marine iguanas basking. Some of the iguanas were fighting over territories and the females that go with the best rocks. We have been watching an American oyster catcher that has been nesting for the last 3 weeks. Today it stood up and showed us 2 eggs. Soon those eggs should hatch and we will see the tiny chicks.
To complete our walk, we took a Zodiac cruise along the coast and found some Galápagos penguins just returning from their fishing outings. They were heading towards the lava caves where they will spend the night resting. We returned to the Islander as the sunset with a marvelous golden glow.
