Isabela & Fernandina Island
Today we were still navigating when we woke up; our captain, officers and naturalists were looking for whales or dolphins, as this area is famous for its cooler waters and that brings a lot of nutrients that attracts these big cetaceans. It was not until later in afternoon when we got to see them, but it was worth the wait. A huge pod of common dolphins was feeding in the area between Northern Isabela and Fernandina; we were so lucky to find them and then follow them for a nice time just after lunch, perfect timing!
Our morning was full of fun and as we crossed the Equator, we had to celebrate it properly. King Neptune, Queen Nereida and their pirates took a few hostages and made them drink iguana blood before they were baptized; kids and adults were all laughing and having a good time!
We then headed off on the Zodiacs to look at the wildlife of Punta Vicente Roca. Turtles were swimming everywhere around our Zodiacs, while penguins and cormorants were basking in the sun together with the iguanas. We were also very lucky to have had a close look at a really impressive fish called the Mola mola or ocean sunfish.
Once back on the ship, a few people headed for snorkeling with the turtles while others had fun just jumping off the boat. During the afternoon and after some great excitement with dolphins, a great talk about Darwin took place in the lounge. Shortly after, we headed off to our land visit at Punta Espinosa, land of the marine iguanas. Thousands of them were gathered together in big piles, some of them were so densely packed that it was hard to distinguish them from the lava rocks. We just didn’t know where to step next!
Sea lion colonies where also found on every little beach, and an area known as “the point” was pretty spectacular.
Our walk alternated between sandy areas followed by some Pahoehoe lava fields, giving us a great perspective of the youngness of the island. We could also see the big shield-shaped volcanoes, typical of the western most islands. As they are also the youngest in the Galápagos we know for sure that there is quite a bit of volcanic activity still happening every once in a while in the area .
It was then time to start heading back, sorting our way thru the hundreds of iguanas now gathering closer in preparation to a good night of sleep. Female sea lions where also coming back to shore trying to locate their young pups to breast-feed them; we all decided to call it a day and make our back to the ship to get our sunset drinks as well!
Today we were still navigating when we woke up; our captain, officers and naturalists were looking for whales or dolphins, as this area is famous for its cooler waters and that brings a lot of nutrients that attracts these big cetaceans. It was not until later in afternoon when we got to see them, but it was worth the wait. A huge pod of common dolphins was feeding in the area between Northern Isabela and Fernandina; we were so lucky to find them and then follow them for a nice time just after lunch, perfect timing!
Our morning was full of fun and as we crossed the Equator, we had to celebrate it properly. King Neptune, Queen Nereida and their pirates took a few hostages and made them drink iguana blood before they were baptized; kids and adults were all laughing and having a good time!
We then headed off on the Zodiacs to look at the wildlife of Punta Vicente Roca. Turtles were swimming everywhere around our Zodiacs, while penguins and cormorants were basking in the sun together with the iguanas. We were also very lucky to have had a close look at a really impressive fish called the Mola mola or ocean sunfish.
Once back on the ship, a few people headed for snorkeling with the turtles while others had fun just jumping off the boat. During the afternoon and after some great excitement with dolphins, a great talk about Darwin took place in the lounge. Shortly after, we headed off to our land visit at Punta Espinosa, land of the marine iguanas. Thousands of them were gathered together in big piles, some of them were so densely packed that it was hard to distinguish them from the lava rocks. We just didn’t know where to step next!
Sea lion colonies where also found on every little beach, and an area known as “the point” was pretty spectacular.
Our walk alternated between sandy areas followed by some Pahoehoe lava fields, giving us a great perspective of the youngness of the island. We could also see the big shield-shaped volcanoes, typical of the western most islands. As they are also the youngest in the Galápagos we know for sure that there is quite a bit of volcanic activity still happening every once in a while in the area .
It was then time to start heading back, sorting our way thru the hundreds of iguanas now gathering closer in preparation to a good night of sleep. Female sea lions where also coming back to shore trying to locate their young pups to breast-feed them; we all decided to call it a day and make our back to the ship to get our sunset drinks as well!
