Punta Vicente Roca & Punta Espinosa
We were on deck by six this morning, watching for whales, on this extraordinary new day in the Galápagos. Although it took quite a while to find a cetacean, we were not disappointed. Just north of the equator we spotted a single Bryde’s whale - as elusive as they usually are – we were fortunate that this one came so close to the National Geographic Islander. We enjoyed seeing its back and dorsal fin and were delighted by its three approaches to the ship.
Soon we crossed the equator and after a modest ceremony, performed by our Expedition Leader and Naturalists, all of us “crossed the line” and were officially declared “Galápagos Shell Backs.” With everybody feeling energetic after the ceremony, we got ready for Zodiac cruises and a snorkeling expedition.
The Zodiac ride was great: we saw penguins, cormorants and sea turtles. The snorkeling however was simply mind blowing!! While we swam we were surrounded by sea turtles grazing on algae, and cormorants and penguins hunting for food. The penguins chased tiny fish right in front of us and a sea lion was wolfing down a rather big fish, tearing it apart by splashing it hard upon the water. The water temperature was pleasant and was teeming with plankton, among which we recognized arrow worms and salps. The excitement and intensity we felt today while snorkeling was a very moving experience, time passed by way too fast.
In the afternoon, at Punta Espinosa we had an encounter with hundreds of marine iguanas that were resting and aggregated in big piles. Many of them were so small that it was impossible not to call them “cute”. These reptiles were still coming out of their nests, increasing their healthy population. Not far away, a Galápagos hawk seemed to have similar thoughts, but its concern was not regarding how the little iguanas looked, but rather how tasty they must be.
To walk on the island of Fernandina was something very special. Knowing that it remains the least polluted and altered of all the tropical islands in the world, made us positive and determined to keep it this way.
These feeling are necessary, if we want our planet’s natural regions to remain untouched.
