Isabela and Fernandina Islands
By the time the sun was rising, we were already up and eager to start a new day. Our task today was to look for cetaceans among many other activities that will become adventures, which in time, we’ll discover.
Right after breakfast we joined our Captain at the bridge to celebrate the official crossing of the equator line at “00º latitude”. I have to admit that it was a rather “fast” crossing, but it was exiting anyway! As we continued our navigation, the island of Isabela presented a spectacular panoramic landscape full of volcanic features, which includes “half of a volcano” that collapsed long ago. The ledges of what is left of the volcano are the perfect resting and feeding grounds for many of the seabirds found in this region. Birds like penguins, flightless cormorants, blue-footed boobies, and reptiles like the marine iguanas, sea turtles and even mammals like sea lions were among the many species found resting along its shoreline.
It was not too long after we anchored that our Zodiacs were ready to take us on a ride along its impressive cliffs. The name of this area is Punta Vicente Roca located just at the southern tip of Ecuador Volcano. It was as if the animals were waiting for us, and with an intriguing posing, they waited patiently for us to finish our observations, remarks and photographs.
The water was teeming with wildlife, so we decided to gear up and went for a round of snorkeling, which gave us astonishing memories. Many sea turtles were feeding while we were observing them from above, and penguins were performing acrobatic, well-coordinated maneuvers underwater, as if they were really flying.
I can’t believe this was all done during the first part of the day, because for the afternoon, we headed to a different location known as Fernandina Island. The lava flows that covered the majority of this island gave us the feeling of being in another planet, and the amount of wildlife was unreal!
The end of the day gratified us with a wonderful sunset, which was just the perfect touch to end this beautiful day.
By the time the sun was rising, we were already up and eager to start a new day. Our task today was to look for cetaceans among many other activities that will become adventures, which in time, we’ll discover.
Right after breakfast we joined our Captain at the bridge to celebrate the official crossing of the equator line at “00º latitude”. I have to admit that it was a rather “fast” crossing, but it was exiting anyway! As we continued our navigation, the island of Isabela presented a spectacular panoramic landscape full of volcanic features, which includes “half of a volcano” that collapsed long ago. The ledges of what is left of the volcano are the perfect resting and feeding grounds for many of the seabirds found in this region. Birds like penguins, flightless cormorants, blue-footed boobies, and reptiles like the marine iguanas, sea turtles and even mammals like sea lions were among the many species found resting along its shoreline.
It was not too long after we anchored that our Zodiacs were ready to take us on a ride along its impressive cliffs. The name of this area is Punta Vicente Roca located just at the southern tip of Ecuador Volcano. It was as if the animals were waiting for us, and with an intriguing posing, they waited patiently for us to finish our observations, remarks and photographs.
The water was teeming with wildlife, so we decided to gear up and went for a round of snorkeling, which gave us astonishing memories. Many sea turtles were feeding while we were observing them from above, and penguins were performing acrobatic, well-coordinated maneuvers underwater, as if they were really flying.
I can’t believe this was all done during the first part of the day, because for the afternoon, we headed to a different location known as Fernandina Island. The lava flows that covered the majority of this island gave us the feeling of being in another planet, and the amount of wildlife was unreal!
The end of the day gratified us with a wonderful sunset, which was just the perfect touch to end this beautiful day.
