Isabela & Fernandina Islands
We began this day with a phenomenal view of a rock in the middle of the ocean, Roca Redonda. This rock was formed by the erosion of a young volcano a long time ago. Here we saw innumerable birds nesting along the cliff, but we also had an encounter with several hundred common dolphins – it was amazing!
Later in the morning we used the Zodiacs for a boat ride along the shoreline of northern Isabela Island. This point, known as Punta Vicente Roca, is famous for the amount of wildlife encountered along the wall of Ecuador Volcano. Here we saw a good number of marine turtles, flightless cormorants, but also an amazing creature that came from the southern temperate climate to live in a tropical and sunny area, the penguin. Now endemic to the islands, it is called the Galápagos Penguin, Spheniscus mendiculus.
They bring to mind the latest cartoon movies where the penguins are tired of the cold and move to the warmest place looking for tropical sun, white sand, and turquoise water. It was the actual case for this penguin (though not with a conscious search in mind), and nowadays they are doing well here on the equator. Some years however, during the last El Niño year, they had a very hard time in Galápagos because of the excessively warm water temperatures. The heat caused high physiological stresses on this bird which was better adapted for colder and cooler weather. Natural selection continues, and every season takes its toll, so one way or another they are changing and adapting to these variations.
For today, it was amusing to see penguins sunbathing on volcanic lava rock in front of some curious creatures floating by on a Lindblad Zodiac.
We began this day with a phenomenal view of a rock in the middle of the ocean, Roca Redonda. This rock was formed by the erosion of a young volcano a long time ago. Here we saw innumerable birds nesting along the cliff, but we also had an encounter with several hundred common dolphins – it was amazing!
Later in the morning we used the Zodiacs for a boat ride along the shoreline of northern Isabela Island. This point, known as Punta Vicente Roca, is famous for the amount of wildlife encountered along the wall of Ecuador Volcano. Here we saw a good number of marine turtles, flightless cormorants, but also an amazing creature that came from the southern temperate climate to live in a tropical and sunny area, the penguin. Now endemic to the islands, it is called the Galápagos Penguin, Spheniscus mendiculus.
They bring to mind the latest cartoon movies where the penguins are tired of the cold and move to the warmest place looking for tropical sun, white sand, and turquoise water. It was the actual case for this penguin (though not with a conscious search in mind), and nowadays they are doing well here on the equator. Some years however, during the last El Niño year, they had a very hard time in Galápagos because of the excessively warm water temperatures. The heat caused high physiological stresses on this bird which was better adapted for colder and cooler weather. Natural selection continues, and every season takes its toll, so one way or another they are changing and adapting to these variations.
For today, it was amusing to see penguins sunbathing on volcanic lava rock in front of some curious creatures floating by on a Lindblad Zodiac.
