After a calm and sunny morning, meandering around Roca Redonda and cavorting over the equator, we made our way to Fernandina. For most guides, this is a real favorite. For the world: the most pristine of islands for it's size.
From a distance, Fernandina appears to be quite a desolate place, totally void of any life whatsoever. Upon closer inspection, however, it becomes evident that the coast is extremely rich. Those on our afternoon snorkeling excursion discovered just that. Between us we witnessed the rich abundance of algae being consumed by many large green sea turtles and marine iguanas. Amongst the tightly cropped seaweed were the amazing colors of gastropods, sea stars and polychaete worms. Several folk also bore witness to a flightless cormorant foraging in the cracks on the seabed. Soon after, during our walk on Punta Espinosa, a number of us watched the last half of the meal of a Galapagos hawk! He was feeding on a medium-sized marine iguana!
There were hundreds of dragonflies flying around due to the recent rains. On a couple of occasions, lava lizards were fortunate enough to catch one. As one devoured its meal, I caught this lucky shot.
Where the land animals of the islands are concerned, there is certainly plenty of food around right now!
