Isabela & Fernandina Islands
The National Geographic Islander has been navigating all night long to reach the westernmost part of this archipelago. It was exciting to watch the sun rising behind those perfect shield volcanoes on Isabela Island. Later on we kept sailing toward the lower lip of the sea horse-shaped island off Isabela known as Punta Vicente Roca, keeping our eyes attentively searching for marine mammals.
At Punta Vicente we had a lovely Zodiac ride and because of the cold, nutrient-rich waters, this area is teeming with life. We observed marine turtles here and there, huge marine iguanas swimming near the coast where they were diving to feed on algae, fast swimming penguins feeding on tiny fish and blue-footed boobies plunge diving. The Ocean sunfish was spotted close to the shore; many of us had a good view of this giant oddly shaped fish. Our snorkel outing in slightly turbid waters was extremely rewarding: we saw turtles and cormorants along with many fish species.
The afternoon found us at Punta Espinoza. The island of Fernandina is a magical place and it is considered one of the most pristine and untouched islands in the world. As soon as you land on the barren lava shores, you not only see, but also feel the uniqueness of this special place. A hike here gives us an idea of what these islands must have been like in the very beginning: devoid of life at first, due to a very harsh environment. Then the first resilient colonizers arrived and as more and more species made the difficult 600 mile ocean crossing and established here, a simple chain of life was achieved...
The National Geographic Islander has been navigating all night long to reach the westernmost part of this archipelago. It was exciting to watch the sun rising behind those perfect shield volcanoes on Isabela Island. Later on we kept sailing toward the lower lip of the sea horse-shaped island off Isabela known as Punta Vicente Roca, keeping our eyes attentively searching for marine mammals.
At Punta Vicente we had a lovely Zodiac ride and because of the cold, nutrient-rich waters, this area is teeming with life. We observed marine turtles here and there, huge marine iguanas swimming near the coast where they were diving to feed on algae, fast swimming penguins feeding on tiny fish and blue-footed boobies plunge diving. The Ocean sunfish was spotted close to the shore; many of us had a good view of this giant oddly shaped fish. Our snorkel outing in slightly turbid waters was extremely rewarding: we saw turtles and cormorants along with many fish species.
The afternoon found us at Punta Espinoza. The island of Fernandina is a magical place and it is considered one of the most pristine and untouched islands in the world. As soon as you land on the barren lava shores, you not only see, but also feel the uniqueness of this special place. A hike here gives us an idea of what these islands must have been like in the very beginning: devoid of life at first, due to a very harsh environment. Then the first resilient colonizers arrived and as more and more species made the difficult 600 mile ocean crossing and established here, a simple chain of life was achieved...
