Vicente Roca, Isabela Island & Punta Espinosa, Fernandina Island
After a very smooth navigation throughout the night, we reached the north-western tip of Isabela Island. It was a sunny morning and the conditions were just perfect to look for marine creatures. Soon enough, a Sei whale was spotted, as well as a Bryde’s whale not long after. The summits of the young volcanoes of the Galapagos were clear and the landscape was simply breathtaking. An unusual event drew us to the bridge of the National Geographic Islander: the crossing of the equator line, a moment witnessed by many of us on the GPS of our ship.
Once the anchor was dropped and our Zodiacs were on the water, we departed to explore the amazing coastline of Punta Vicente Roca. This cliffy coast is full of marine life, and soon we found endemic species like the Galapagos sea lions both swimming and basking in the sun, Galapagos penguins, flightless cormorants, brown noddy terns and blue-footed boobies. A little further away from the shore we were able to find a bizarre creature of the deep oceans: the mola mola or ocean sunfish, a gentle giant that belongs to the family of the puffers.
The water visibility was great so we hurried up to get into our snorkeling gear. For a second time this morning, we departed in our Zodiacs, this time to jump into the cold waters of Punta Vicente Roca. Once in, the scene was almost surreal with dozens of Pacific green sea turtles all around us! The area is an important feeding ground for this species, so turtles of various sizes grazed on the algae, while some of them simply rested on the sandy bottom or relaxed just below the surface. A couple of Galapagos penguins ‘flew’ past us while hunting a school of small fish; two Galapagos fur sea lions played in the water close to the snorkelers; various species of colorful fish swam past underneath us. Simply spectacular!
Towards midday we sailed across the Bolivar Channel, which divides Isabela from Fernandina islands, in order to reach a new site: Punta Espinosa. Fernandina is the most pristine island in the Galapagos archipelago; no species have been introduced here and humans have never inhabited it due to the youth of its lavas and the lack of fresh water and food. It last erupted in 2009 and the island looks black and inhospitable from the distance. However, Punta Espinosa holds a huge population of the endemic and unique marine iguana. This sea-going creature is able to hold its breath for up to an hour as it grazes on the algae at the bottom; at this time of day, hundreds of them were already basking in the sun. A couple of flightless cormorants dried their wings up, as cormorants elsewhere typically do. A great number of sea turtles warmed themselves up in the tidal pools, while a few Galapagos sea lion pups waited patiently for their mums to return from the ocean.
As the day died out, the sunrays turned the landscapes first gold and then pink. Fernandina Island is definitely a place lost in time in this ever-changing world, and one that will stay in our memories forever.
