Fernandina & Isabela Island
Fernandina Island is the most isolated volcano in Galápagos; its landscape is very barren due to the volcanic activity that takes place from time to time. The process of colonization is just beginning to happen right now. The whole volcano is covered with a fresh lava flow and patches of vegetation, and this scenario will continue for hundreds of years longer until it gets disconnected from the hot spot, and eventually this island will drift apart and the vegetation will cover the whole lsland like very old volcanos in the rest of the archipelago.
This morning we disembarked to explore the coastline of Fernandina Island, which is covered by one of the largest population of marine iguanas in the archipelago. We do have land iguanas as well on this island and since it’s a very new geological formation there are not many beaches. Marine and land iguanas nest at the same time of the year and competition for nesting grounds is very intense. Female marine iguanas fight among them for nesting ground, meanwhile the terrestrial ones prefer to climb to the summit and get inside the calderas for nesting. It is very impressive how this endemic species is able to adapt to these harsh conditions.
Right after lunch we had a meeting with our National Geographic Expert; Tierney Thys; who came to the main lounge to talk about one of the most amazing creatures in tropical waters: The Pacific Ocean Sun Fish. Little is known about them in Galápagos, and since we started this project a year ago we have compiled amazing data, which is crucial for protecting this species worldwide.
Right after this talk we went out for a Zodiac ride along the coast of Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela Island, and there this fish was feeding on jellies, which are their main food source for them. The expert on this fish also tagged a few individuals; this will allow us to get very important information to protect them.
Today was a great day in Galápagos with penguins, cormorants, boobies, pelicans, sea lions, whales, and many other encounters as well.
