Isabela & Fernandina Islands
What a strange and beautiful feeling to wake up on a hazy morning in Galápagos. Today we will cross the Equator on our way to Isabela Island. She is one of the youngest islands in the Galápagos Archipelago. Isabela has five active volcanoes. One for then, Cerro Azul, is even erupting right now. Some of us had the chance last night to see it in the distance. From afar it appeared either the eruption had ended or that the volcano was inactive at the moment, for we were only able to see a small red dot and reflection.
Just after we finished breakfast an announcement was made, “come to the bridge we are about to cross the Equator.” After a couple minutes an official announcement was made," '00' latitude welcome to the Equator!” We had officially become shellbacks, a marine term used for those who have crossed the Equator.
The National Geographic Polaris dropped anchor right by our morning site, Punta Vicente Roca. We were now on the western coast of Isabela. The conditions are completely different in this region than in the rest of the Galápagos, for example the water temperatures are generally cooler.
We boarded our Zodiacs to have a better look at the coastline. The impressive volcanic formations found here provide shelter to several endemic animal species, such as Galápagos penguins, flightless cormorants, and Galápagos fur seals. Next we went snorkeling, even though the water was on the murky side, we were able to see many Pacific green sea turtles.
Fernandina Island was our afternoon destination. This island is the youngest in the Galápagos archipelago. Geologists say that it is only around 400,000 years old, while others claim it could be even younger than that. The summit that crowns the island has the typical shape of a shield volcano, flat at the top with extended slopes by the sides. Scarce vegetation on roughed lava, together with red and white mangroves, are seen with large groups of marine iguanas by the hundreds. These reptiles, despite their abundance, can be hard to spot because they blend so well with the dark lava they rest on. Galápagos sea lions were, as always, a favorite subject to photograph today. We saw several of them going about their day on the island. Towards the end of the day, the sunset surrounded us with the same magical haze we awoke to.
What a strange and beautiful feeling to wake up on a hazy morning in Galápagos. Today we will cross the Equator on our way to Isabela Island. She is one of the youngest islands in the Galápagos Archipelago. Isabela has five active volcanoes. One for then, Cerro Azul, is even erupting right now. Some of us had the chance last night to see it in the distance. From afar it appeared either the eruption had ended or that the volcano was inactive at the moment, for we were only able to see a small red dot and reflection.
Just after we finished breakfast an announcement was made, “come to the bridge we are about to cross the Equator.” After a couple minutes an official announcement was made," '00' latitude welcome to the Equator!” We had officially become shellbacks, a marine term used for those who have crossed the Equator.
The National Geographic Polaris dropped anchor right by our morning site, Punta Vicente Roca. We were now on the western coast of Isabela. The conditions are completely different in this region than in the rest of the Galápagos, for example the water temperatures are generally cooler.
We boarded our Zodiacs to have a better look at the coastline. The impressive volcanic formations found here provide shelter to several endemic animal species, such as Galápagos penguins, flightless cormorants, and Galápagos fur seals. Next we went snorkeling, even though the water was on the murky side, we were able to see many Pacific green sea turtles.
Fernandina Island was our afternoon destination. This island is the youngest in the Galápagos archipelago. Geologists say that it is only around 400,000 years old, while others claim it could be even younger than that. The summit that crowns the island has the typical shape of a shield volcano, flat at the top with extended slopes by the sides. Scarce vegetation on roughed lava, together with red and white mangroves, are seen with large groups of marine iguanas by the hundreds. These reptiles, despite their abundance, can be hard to spot because they blend so well with the dark lava they rest on. Galápagos sea lions were, as always, a favorite subject to photograph today. We saw several of them going about their day on the island. Towards the end of the day, the sunset surrounded us with the same magical haze we awoke to.
