The ocean was as calm at 5:30am as we sailed due west towards the setting moon on the northern part of Isabela Island. We spotted a large pod of common dolphins that allowed our ship to get about a hundred yards close before sprinting into the horizon. These waters are bathed by an upwelling current called Cromwell, and are so rich with life that cormorants stopped flying and evolved into the only flightless cormorants on earth.
After breakfast, we had a ceremony at the bow to celebrate the crossing of the equator into the southern hemisphere. Soon we arrived to Punta Vicente Roca where we went along the shore on zodiacs and snorkeled.
Fernandina Island in the afternoon was equally as rich and we walked among hundreds of black marine iguanas, flightless cormorants and sea lions on Punta Espinosa. When we came back, a wine tasting was waiting for us on the Sky Deck. Another perfect day comes to an end.
