Isabela and Fernandina Islands
At nearly 8:00am we were still sailing toward our first destination of the day: Punta Vicente Roca. We had sailed several hours up to the northern part of the archipelago and then turned west starting from Santiago Island where we were yesterday.
Today was spent entirely at Isabela and Fernandina Islands where we had very sunny conditions. Very early in the day, at around 2:00am, we crossed the Equator. We crossed it a second time during the daylight hours, just after breakfast. We had a little ceremony with our Captain on the bridge while watching the instruments showing us the 0°’0’0’’ latitude.
After the small celebration with our Expedition Leader, we embarked our Zodiac fleet on a quest to search for sea turtles, penguins, the giant sunfish, flightless cormorants and many other exciting species that live around Punta Vicente Roca.
We saw many marine iguanas perched on rocks during the ride. We observed many more nesting on the volcano’s slopes and saw how these reptiles have a lot of food to enjoy on the rocky shores of Punta Vicente Roca.
The Galápagos fur seals were another great attraction with their loud cries coming from inside caves on the nearby shore – they did really offer a great show.
The real highlight of the morning was the time we shared snorkeling with sea turtles. The Pacific green sea turtles come to this spot in the middle of the Pacific to rest and graze. The area is very rich in algae and organic debris, these gentle reptiles will feast for days on end and rest in the shallow bay of Punta Vicente Roca.
The afternoon stroll at Punta Espinoza was a delightful time shared with marine iguanas – the “imps of darkness” – so called by the great naturalist Charles Darwin. Hundreds of marine iguanas were everywhere, sea lions, Sally Lightfoot crabs and flightless cormorants made our day another perfect one in paradise.
