What a day! Since early in the morning a kind of magic was floating in the air. A fantastic Zodiac cruise along Volcano Ecuador in the morning and a great walk in Fernandina Island in the afternoon were praised by all our guests. Just at the end of the walk and when we were getting ready to come back on board the Polaris, we were notified by radio that a group of bottle-nose dolphins was spotted. In this moment I felt that the real highlight of the day just started since these dolphin species are very confident and willingly approach boats. All the Zodiacs went to the encounter of a very big group of bottle-nose dolphins, and little by little we got closer to them. The excitement really reached a peak when we were in close contact with these beautiful marine mammals. The dolphins were performing a real nature show in front of our eyes. Some were riding waves at the bow of the Zodiacs; others were leaping out of the water. Some were performing a very funny movement, swimming upside down and hitting the water with their tails, behavior known as: tail-lobbing. Some dolphins were just breaching without forward motion. To complete the scene, exclamations of joy and amazement were rising up to the air, just like the ones you can hear when watching fireworks. We spent almost one hour watching the dolphins, then night began to fall and reluctantly we had to come back on board. Just when the Polaris came to pick up the Zodiacs, a group of three dolphins jumped some feet out of the water making a big finale.
These marine mammals are often found in Galapagos very close to shore, they feed on fish and can reach a maximum size of 3.9 meters (11 feet). Bottle-nose dolphins are very social; they swim close together in groups that range from five to two hundred individuals. Today, I feel that I do not have enough words to express and describe what we all experienced. For me to have the privilege to share a moment of our lives with these beloved marine creatures is a feeling that goes beyond explanation.
