Isabela & Fernandina Islands
Well here we are again, another day in paradise; we started today with a very early morning activity at about six thirty, to find some marine life. This part of the archipelago is very rich in nutrients because of the cold Cromwell current, so we saw some seabirds like petrels and shear-waters and when we were close to thinking that we were not going to see any more, a group of pilot whales appeared very close to our ship for the delight of everyone. Later on we all celebrated a party for crossing the Equator line with the presence of King Neptune, of course. Then we went for a boat ride where some of us were able to see a very rare fish called the Mola mola, which is an animal that can be as heavy as five thousand pounds, believe it or not! I know some cars that are lighter than that. Afterwards we snorkeled with marine turtles and penguins.
In the afternoon after a very interesting talk about the life of Charles Darwin given by one of our naturalists on board. We prepared for landing in one of the most pristine islands on Earth due the fact that there are no introduced animals at all; that is Fernandina, considered the youngest island in the archipelago. The main attraction there was a flightless cormorant, the one only cormorant that has lost the ability to fly. Just when we continued our walk a Galápagos hawk landed on top of a fallen log literary in front of our eyes, and so close to us that we could not believe it. This is probably the most fascinating aspect of the wildlife here in Galápagos, the facility to see animals that are so tame; a snake passing by in between our legs was an especially tame surprise. In general the landscape is fantastic; we ended up with a hot afternoon and a beautiful sunset.
Well here we are again, another day in paradise; we started today with a very early morning activity at about six thirty, to find some marine life. This part of the archipelago is very rich in nutrients because of the cold Cromwell current, so we saw some seabirds like petrels and shear-waters and when we were close to thinking that we were not going to see any more, a group of pilot whales appeared very close to our ship for the delight of everyone. Later on we all celebrated a party for crossing the Equator line with the presence of King Neptune, of course. Then we went for a boat ride where some of us were able to see a very rare fish called the Mola mola, which is an animal that can be as heavy as five thousand pounds, believe it or not! I know some cars that are lighter than that. Afterwards we snorkeled with marine turtles and penguins.
In the afternoon after a very interesting talk about the life of Charles Darwin given by one of our naturalists on board. We prepared for landing in one of the most pristine islands on Earth due the fact that there are no introduced animals at all; that is Fernandina, considered the youngest island in the archipelago. The main attraction there was a flightless cormorant, the one only cormorant that has lost the ability to fly. Just when we continued our walk a Galápagos hawk landed on top of a fallen log literary in front of our eyes, and so close to us that we could not believe it. This is probably the most fascinating aspect of the wildlife here in Galápagos, the facility to see animals that are so tame; a snake passing by in between our legs was an especially tame surprise. In general the landscape is fantastic; we ended up with a hot afternoon and a beautiful sunset.
