Isabela & Fernandina Islands
This morning, Naturalist Ernesto Vaca and I were awake very early. We hoped to find marine mammals while navigating around the northern tip of Wolf volcano on Isabela Island. We both went all the way up on the high cross nest of the ship and from there we sighted a very large pod of common dolphins. We alerted Expedition Leader Carlos Romero and Captain Juan Robalino and the National Geographic Endeavour turned towards them so everyone could see the pod; we all enjoyed a magnificent sighting. We estimated there were between 600 to 800 common dolphins. Today they showed an unusual behavior—some individuals approached the ship and played for a while. In the Gálapagos, this dolphin species does not usually approach ships. We also observed many dolphins jumping high in the air.
The National Geographic Endeavour then continued its navigation towards the Equator line. After breakfast we moved into the bridge area where we witnessed the crossing of the Equator and those of us who were Pollywogs became Shellbacks. The guests who were enjoying the moment were surprised by the sudden appearance of a motley crew that ordered them to cross the line “limbo dancing style,” as punishment for crossing the Equator without Neptune’s permission. I asked a couple of our younger guests, Reis and Andrew White, about this experience. Andrew said “it was fun and it was just like their Halloween,” whereas Reis said “it was funny to dress up in the funny costume, and it was cool to cross the Equator on a ship.”
We lingered a while, admiring the volcanic coastline, while continuing our trip towards Punta Vicente Roca. We could appreciate from the decks the interesting structure of Ecuador volcano. Approximately half of the external wall of this volcano sunk in to the ocean approximately 100,000 years ago. The National Geographic Endeavour moored at Punta Vicente Roca, and we all went for a Zodiac ride. It was a great ride: we saw many sea turtles, the Pacific Ocean sunfish (mola mola), and brown pelicans fishing for striped salemas. We saw noddy terns landing on the pelicans’ heads, trying to snatch the little fish that were coming out of their beaks. We also watched Galápagos penguins and flightless cormorants fishing.
After our Zodiac ride, we came back to ship, put on our wet suits, and went snorkeling. It was awesome! Many sea turtles were so close they almost rubbed our bellies. We observed flightless cormorants diving and fishing and saw several Galápagos sea lions moving swiftly, performing acrobatic movements. In a nutshell, it was an amazing morning.
Back on board and after a good shower, we were served our traditional Ecuadorian lunch and the National Geographic Endeavour motored toward Punta Espinoza on Fernandina Island. This island is considered to be one of the most pristine islands on earth. Marine iguanas are large in numbers here, as their biomass is greater than the colonies found in the southern and central islands. This is due to the huge amounts of nutrients found around the western edge of the archipelago, brought by the cold, rich upwelling of the Cromwell current. We also saw lava cactus, mangroves, the recent lava flows, sea lions, lava lizards, Sally Lightfoot crabs and lots of shore birds. The tide was very low so we were able to explore the intertidal pools.
We went back on board, had our evening recap with a well-deserved cocktail, and dinner was served afterwards. Tomorrow we will be on Santa Cruz Island, and we will tell you about our next fascinating adventures and experiences.
