North of Isabela & Fernandina Islands
Early risers this morning were faced with an amazing sunset, right over the northernmost and tallest of the volcanoes of Isabela, which formed the most spectacular of backdrops against a small pod of lively common dolphins.
After this magical encounter, we continued west into a mysterious fog bank that was swirling densely above the cool, upwelled waters of the western archipelago. What looked like a white rainbow arch welcomed us into the fog bank and we could not see anything around or above us until we started approaching the equator line. We were reminded of the beliefs of ancient sailors that the islands were enchanted because of the difficulty of being sighted in the misty season and the difficulty of reaching them due to the strong undercurrents in the area.
Like a message sent by King Neptune that we were approaching to the equator line, the dense fog started to lift, and the collapsed caldera of Ecuador volcano loomed ahead of us. This half-volcano, bisected by the equator line which gave it its name, is a fascinating opportunity to observe the caldera of a huge Galápagos shield volcano.
We sailed along the one third of the caldera that remained from Ecuador Volcano as our Expedition Leader told us more about the geology of the area. We dropped anchor at Punta Vicente Roca and started our outings with a panga ride during which we searched for sea turtles, Galápagos penguins, flightless cormorants, blue-footed boobies and other species. We were really lucky because we spotted the oceanic sunfish (Mola mola), a huge, bizarre fish that can reach up to seven feet and weigh about two tons! Most of its body is composed of the head; the tail being very short and converted into a rudder-like structure called the clavus. The anal and dorsal fins are very large and sway from side to side, thus pushing this enormous fish through the water. The dorsal fin often allows the fish to be spotted, as the tip sticks out of the water, and can be distinguished from a shark fin by the side-to-side motion. This fish feeds on soft-bodied invertebrates, and is usually very shy.
We left Isabela behind, headed towards Fernandina Island, where we dropped anchor and jumped off from the pangas for an intense snorkeling session with sea turtles, Galápagos penguins, flightless cormorants and a lot of different types of fish - nothing can be compared to the Galápagos Marine Reserve!
We landed this afternoon on one of the largest completely pristine islands in the world, Fernandina. Here we observed the breeding process of the marine iguanas in large numbers, side by side with the Galápagos sea lions that were basking on the beach.
Non-hikers took a longer panga ride, during which they spotted huge numbers of reptiles and birds on a comfortable Zodiac. Coming back on board we enjoyed a beautiful sunset on our skydeck.
Early risers this morning were faced with an amazing sunset, right over the northernmost and tallest of the volcanoes of Isabela, which formed the most spectacular of backdrops against a small pod of lively common dolphins.
After this magical encounter, we continued west into a mysterious fog bank that was swirling densely above the cool, upwelled waters of the western archipelago. What looked like a white rainbow arch welcomed us into the fog bank and we could not see anything around or above us until we started approaching the equator line. We were reminded of the beliefs of ancient sailors that the islands were enchanted because of the difficulty of being sighted in the misty season and the difficulty of reaching them due to the strong undercurrents in the area.
Like a message sent by King Neptune that we were approaching to the equator line, the dense fog started to lift, and the collapsed caldera of Ecuador volcano loomed ahead of us. This half-volcano, bisected by the equator line which gave it its name, is a fascinating opportunity to observe the caldera of a huge Galápagos shield volcano.
We sailed along the one third of the caldera that remained from Ecuador Volcano as our Expedition Leader told us more about the geology of the area. We dropped anchor at Punta Vicente Roca and started our outings with a panga ride during which we searched for sea turtles, Galápagos penguins, flightless cormorants, blue-footed boobies and other species. We were really lucky because we spotted the oceanic sunfish (Mola mola), a huge, bizarre fish that can reach up to seven feet and weigh about two tons! Most of its body is composed of the head; the tail being very short and converted into a rudder-like structure called the clavus. The anal and dorsal fins are very large and sway from side to side, thus pushing this enormous fish through the water. The dorsal fin often allows the fish to be spotted, as the tip sticks out of the water, and can be distinguished from a shark fin by the side-to-side motion. This fish feeds on soft-bodied invertebrates, and is usually very shy.
We left Isabela behind, headed towards Fernandina Island, where we dropped anchor and jumped off from the pangas for an intense snorkeling session with sea turtles, Galápagos penguins, flightless cormorants and a lot of different types of fish - nothing can be compared to the Galápagos Marine Reserve!
We landed this afternoon on one of the largest completely pristine islands in the world, Fernandina. Here we observed the breeding process of the marine iguanas in large numbers, side by side with the Galápagos sea lions that were basking on the beach.
Non-hikers took a longer panga ride, during which they spotted huge numbers of reptiles and birds on a comfortable Zodiac. Coming back on board we enjoyed a beautiful sunset on our skydeck.
