Today is the last day of 2013; how the year has zipped right on by! We awoke this morning on calm seas north of the largest island in the Galápagos archipelago: Isabela. The island is shaped like a seahorse and when I gave an optional early wake-up call at 0600 we were navigating along the top of the seahorse’s head. The weather was lovely, cool and breezy, and to the south we admired the silhouette of Wolf volcano—one of the largest and still active volcanoes found in Galápagos. Wolf last erupted in the 1982 but as with all the volcanoes here, one never knows when it might next erupt!
We spied several of the rare dark-rumped storm petrels this morning as they swooped back and forth above the waves. These endemic seabirds nest in the highlands in small caves under the lava and are thus extremely vulnerable to introduced rats, cats, and pigs, which eat their eggs and chicks. About 30 years ago they were in danger of extinction but dedicated protection during their nesting season by the scientists and park wardens have allowed the population of petrels to dramatically increase.
From the sky deck where we were gathered, naturalist Sophia pointed out the dorsal fins of a couple mola sunfish and since no whales or dolphins were found, many of our guests joined wellness specialist Maria for stretching. Following breakfast we squeezed into the bridge and counted down with the GPS latitude degrees as we approached and then crossed the Equator. We blew the ship’s horn and did the limbo under an imaginary line as we sailed into the southern hemisphere. Soon Captain Pablo anchored the ship below the impressive cliffs at Punta Vicente Roca and we went out to explore via Zodiac.
The weather was perfect this morning—calm seas and a slight breeze—and we observed lots of wildlife. Penguins paddled along and zipped under the waves as they chased tiny fish, sea turtles popped up for a quick breath and then submerged, sea lions and fur seals swam or rested along the rocky shore, and we watched really large marine iguanas shaking their heads and jowls as they set up territories along the coast. We returned to the ship and suited up for snorkeling and had an amazing hour in the water with all the species listed above!
The visibility was mediocre but the wildlife was fabulous. Where else can one snorkel with mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish in an hour’s outing? Both sea lions and fur seals swam below us, penguins paddled right up to us and we watched a cormorant poking among the rocks on the ocean bottom searching for octopus and fish. There were dozens of sea turtles feeding on marine algae, and schools of at least 20 different species of fish. Almost everyone went snorkeling this morning and I heard several say that they have never seen such a concentration and variety of wildlife in such a small area.
Our afternoon walk at Punta Espinoza was lovely. There is no doubt that we all got plenty of marine iguana pictures; we saw hundreds of these unique Galápagos reptiles. The males were puffed and proud and fighting over territories. Sea lion pups charmed us and played in the tide pools. Several cormorants posed for our photos on the point. A chocolate brown adult hawk was perched in the mangroves and then flew above us.
Tonight’s New Year’s dinner was a lavish and delicious buffet. Our guests enjoyed music and dancing until midnight and then we shared a champagne toast and best wishes for 2014. Following the local tradition, and wearing red (for romance) and yellow (for luck), many of us ran around the ship with our luggage, which should bring us a chance to travel extensively during the coming year. Early in the evening the old year’s widows had begged for money, and after midnight we burned the old year (see the photo of the paper puppets and our National Geographic Islander officers before we burned these puppets) so we can start afresh in the morning. Happy New Year everyone!
