Early this morning, we awoke to views of the majestic silhouettes of the shield volcanoes of Fernandina and Isabela, the youngest islands of the Galapagos archipelago, against a clear sky. We had travelled all night to reach this remote area, bathed by cold water currents coming from the depths of the sea. The cold currents bring fresh nutrients, therefore it is not uncommon to find large oceanic creatures here. Before breakfast we had already spotted a couple of dolphins. Afterwards we set foot on Punta Espinoza, located on the northeastern tip of Fernandina Island, which is known for being the youngest island and for holding the largest numbers of marine iguanas. We could soon testify to this, as we were surrounded by numbers of these endemic black iguanas that were feeding of their favorite algae in the low tide. Everywhere we looked we found something, either a creature or some incredible animal behavior that made us feel like we were part of a nature documentary! More iguanas made their way into the sea, or swam in the tidal pools; a Galapagos hawk was busy hunting little iguanas and lizards; flightless cormorants dried their plumage by the shore under the equatorial sun; Galapagos sea lions played in the tidal pools, oblivious to our presence, while in the distance a flock of blue-footed boobies dove in the ocean in their typical kamikaze style. Fernandina Island is covered in recent black lava flows; the one we walked on today was formed after an eruption in 1820, so little terrestrial life has been able to colonize it, due to its youth and lack of fresh water. Punta Espinoza is quite a hostile place, yet it is also a breathtaking one.
In the afternoon, we navigated further north and across the Bolivar Channel to anchor by a place called Punta Vicente Roca, on the Isabela coast. Steep lava walls surround the anchorage, making us feel like we had suddenly been transported to some Nordic fjords, except for the warm weather! Punta Vicente Roca is a marine site, and the plan for the afternoon was to go out for some deep water snorkeling. Due to the abundance of seaweed, numbers of Pacific green sea turtles come to this place to forage. Once in the water, being surrounded by dozens of these gentle creatures was definitely a surreal scene as well as an unforgettable experience! Later in the afternoon, we returned to this section of the coast in order to search for wildlife above the water. The coastline here is mostly made out of tuff rock, a soft type of sedimentary rock; carved by wave and wind action, it has been beautifully modelled almost to a filigree style. The coastline is home to many endemic species like the Galapagos penguin, flightless cormorants, brown noddy terns and Galapagos fur sea lions. Blue-footed and Nazca boobies decorated the walls with their bright colors and courtship dances. With the sighting of some whale spouts in the vicinity we set off away from the coast to be near to some amazing Bryde’s whales! Back on our ship, we celebrated the crossing of the equator line at sunset and with a glass of champagne in hand we made a toast to a spectacular day… Salud!
