Isabela & Fernandina Island
Continuing with our expedition around the Galápagos Islands, we woke up at Roca Redonda (Round Rock), located on the northern part of Isabela Island. This rock is a resting spot for birds that come from afar looking for food in the surrounding waters rich in nutrients. While we were circumnavigating this volcanic formation we could observe many sea birds feeding, and we could hear the turbulence of the water caused by the upwelling of the Cromwell Current.
Later in the morning, after our breakfast, we crossed the equator line and headed to the northwestern part of Isabela Island. During this navigation we came across a big sperm whale, and as we slowly approached we saw as the whale (having replenished its lungs with air) dove down allowing us to see its huge tail, which is the symbol of our ship. After this great show, we were really excited as we arrived at Punta Vicente Roca where we had the chance to do a coastal exploration aboard our fleet of Zodiacs. Many things were seen during this ride: we found many ocean sunfish, some penguins and cormorants along the shore and also feeding in the water, and on our way back to the ship we even had a close encounter with a big female humpback whale and its calf!
Shortly afterwards we went snorkelling along the shore of Punta Vicente Roca, and everyone was so impressed with the number of green pacific sea turtles that were seen: they were resting on the bottom and just swimming with us, the water was really clear – this was an amazing experience!
In the afternoon we went to Fernandina Island, which is one of the youngest islands in Galápagos, and as such has a very volcanic landscape and a great variety of endemic species. The conditions were perfect for walking so we did not lose any of our valuable time and went hiking in a place called Punta Espinoza, where as soon as we set foot on land we found a bunch of marine iguanas welcoming us.
There is no doubt that here, on this island, you can be part of nature, you can see how every single species of the island just continues with its activities and its natural processes right in front of us, totally unafraid of us: we saw a hawk hunting a lava lizard, a snake taking a baby iguana, some flightless cormorants nesting; we went back on board at sundown without words to describe such a wonderful place!
Continuing with our expedition around the Galápagos Islands, we woke up at Roca Redonda (Round Rock), located on the northern part of Isabela Island. This rock is a resting spot for birds that come from afar looking for food in the surrounding waters rich in nutrients. While we were circumnavigating this volcanic formation we could observe many sea birds feeding, and we could hear the turbulence of the water caused by the upwelling of the Cromwell Current.
Later in the morning, after our breakfast, we crossed the equator line and headed to the northwestern part of Isabela Island. During this navigation we came across a big sperm whale, and as we slowly approached we saw as the whale (having replenished its lungs with air) dove down allowing us to see its huge tail, which is the symbol of our ship. After this great show, we were really excited as we arrived at Punta Vicente Roca where we had the chance to do a coastal exploration aboard our fleet of Zodiacs. Many things were seen during this ride: we found many ocean sunfish, some penguins and cormorants along the shore and also feeding in the water, and on our way back to the ship we even had a close encounter with a big female humpback whale and its calf!
Shortly afterwards we went snorkelling along the shore of Punta Vicente Roca, and everyone was so impressed with the number of green pacific sea turtles that were seen: they were resting on the bottom and just swimming with us, the water was really clear – this was an amazing experience!
In the afternoon we went to Fernandina Island, which is one of the youngest islands in Galápagos, and as such has a very volcanic landscape and a great variety of endemic species. The conditions were perfect for walking so we did not lose any of our valuable time and went hiking in a place called Punta Espinoza, where as soon as we set foot on land we found a bunch of marine iguanas welcoming us.
There is no doubt that here, on this island, you can be part of nature, you can see how every single species of the island just continues with its activities and its natural processes right in front of us, totally unafraid of us: we saw a hawk hunting a lava lizard, a snake taking a baby iguana, some flightless cormorants nesting; we went back on board at sundown without words to describe such a wonderful place!
