Northern Isabela & Fernandina Islands
At 0600 I joined the first officer and helmsman in the bridge. What a marvelous morning! The ocean was flat calm, low flying and tightly packed flocks of migrating red-necked phalaropes flashed brilliant white in the first rays of the sun and a short, but fat section of rainbow disappeared into low gray clouds on the horizon ahead. I made the early risers’ wake up call and soon many of our guests joined Naturalist Gilda and I on deck to search for marine birds and animals. Our list grew slowly: Elliot’s storm petrels, Galápagos shearwaters, dark-rumped petrels, frigates, a Nazca booby, and leaping mobula rays. Sleek, fur seals dove and swam towards shore following a night of fishing.
Finally Gilda yelled out, “whale spout!” and over a mile ahead we discerned two, then three, low, bushy blows that we soon determined belonged to sperm whales! I radioed first officer Fernando and he confirmed that we had 1500 meters of ocean below us; the whales were logging on the surface between deep dives to feed. We approached fast but slowed as we came near and marveled and hollered when each one dove, showing the long, gray back, the low, rounded dorsal fin and the thick, triangular flukes. These whales are thought to feed near the ocean bottom on large and medium sized squid; they can dive down thousands of feet and may stay submerged for over an hour. In all we observed five sperm whales this morning, and then we too went below for our breakfast.
During the mid-morning panga ride along the spectacular coast line of Punta Vicente Roca, we took a census of sea turtles, and observed flightless cormorants, penguins, fur seals and huge basking marine iguanas. I spotted a 10 foot manta ray and everyone had an excellent view of the ocean sunfish or Mola mola. We returned to the ship and quickly donned our snorkeling gear, and were amply rewarded for our efforts. There were dozens of sea turtles, some feeding on marine algae, some sleeping on the sandy bottom and many others gently swimming or drifting in the current. Penguins glided past us with strong strokes of their flipper/wings; they feed on tiny schooling fish that they chase and catch. Cormorants paddled towards the bottom with double kicks of their large webbed feet; they poke under rocks and grab bottom dwelling fish and octopus. These two flightless birds have successfully adapted to Galápagos using completely different swimming and fishing styles for their survival. And while snorkeling today, we watched them both!
In the afternoon, we disembarked on a small cement dock, ducked under the branches of a mangrove forest and emerged on the twisted and ropey pahoehoe lava fields of Punta Espinoza. Here we strolled among piles of black marine iguanas, Darwin’s “imps of darkness” – what a great name he gave these strange creatures. No where else on earth can you find a sea-going, algae-eating lizard! Several cormorants were incubating eggs near the point, dark lava lizards darted after flies, and a hungry but unsuccessful juvenile hawk begged for food from an uninterested adult. But the sea lions, ubiquitous and ever charming, were the highlight of this outing. Two adorable pups, no more than a month and a half old, played with each other, then examined Daniel, and finally took a ride on a sea turtle that had come ashore to rest. Everyone laughed hysterically – such sweet innocence is so rarely seen. The sun set, in a magnificent, neon glow of orange. It has been a thoroughly enchanting day, in these enchanted islands!
At 0600 I joined the first officer and helmsman in the bridge. What a marvelous morning! The ocean was flat calm, low flying and tightly packed flocks of migrating red-necked phalaropes flashed brilliant white in the first rays of the sun and a short, but fat section of rainbow disappeared into low gray clouds on the horizon ahead. I made the early risers’ wake up call and soon many of our guests joined Naturalist Gilda and I on deck to search for marine birds and animals. Our list grew slowly: Elliot’s storm petrels, Galápagos shearwaters, dark-rumped petrels, frigates, a Nazca booby, and leaping mobula rays. Sleek, fur seals dove and swam towards shore following a night of fishing.
Finally Gilda yelled out, “whale spout!” and over a mile ahead we discerned two, then three, low, bushy blows that we soon determined belonged to sperm whales! I radioed first officer Fernando and he confirmed that we had 1500 meters of ocean below us; the whales were logging on the surface between deep dives to feed. We approached fast but slowed as we came near and marveled and hollered when each one dove, showing the long, gray back, the low, rounded dorsal fin and the thick, triangular flukes. These whales are thought to feed near the ocean bottom on large and medium sized squid; they can dive down thousands of feet and may stay submerged for over an hour. In all we observed five sperm whales this morning, and then we too went below for our breakfast.
During the mid-morning panga ride along the spectacular coast line of Punta Vicente Roca, we took a census of sea turtles, and observed flightless cormorants, penguins, fur seals and huge basking marine iguanas. I spotted a 10 foot manta ray and everyone had an excellent view of the ocean sunfish or Mola mola. We returned to the ship and quickly donned our snorkeling gear, and were amply rewarded for our efforts. There were dozens of sea turtles, some feeding on marine algae, some sleeping on the sandy bottom and many others gently swimming or drifting in the current. Penguins glided past us with strong strokes of their flipper/wings; they feed on tiny schooling fish that they chase and catch. Cormorants paddled towards the bottom with double kicks of their large webbed feet; they poke under rocks and grab bottom dwelling fish and octopus. These two flightless birds have successfully adapted to Galápagos using completely different swimming and fishing styles for their survival. And while snorkeling today, we watched them both!
In the afternoon, we disembarked on a small cement dock, ducked under the branches of a mangrove forest and emerged on the twisted and ropey pahoehoe lava fields of Punta Espinoza. Here we strolled among piles of black marine iguanas, Darwin’s “imps of darkness” – what a great name he gave these strange creatures. No where else on earth can you find a sea-going, algae-eating lizard! Several cormorants were incubating eggs near the point, dark lava lizards darted after flies, and a hungry but unsuccessful juvenile hawk begged for food from an uninterested adult. But the sea lions, ubiquitous and ever charming, were the highlight of this outing. Two adorable pups, no more than a month and a half old, played with each other, then examined Daniel, and finally took a ride on a sea turtle that had come ashore to rest. Everyone laughed hysterically – such sweet innocence is so rarely seen. The sun set, in a magnificent, neon glow of orange. It has been a thoroughly enchanting day, in these enchanted islands!
