Today we woke up in the western realm of the Galapagos, between Isabela and Fernandina Islands. After breakfast, we disembarked for a natural history walk along Punta Espinoza, in Fernandina Island. As we disembarked, we saw massive numbers of marine iguanas basking on the lava rocks. Photographers were able to capture the outstanding hunting behaviors of Galapagos hawks that were trying to catch one of the many large iguanas around them. During our walk, we also observed flightless cormorants, the only cormorant in the world that does not fly. The highlights of the snorkeling activity in Punta Espinoza were marine iguanas and green sea turtles grazing in the bottom of the rocky shores.
In the afternoon, after a delicious lunch, we had the opportunity to go for a Zodiac ride along Volcano Ecuador, in the northern region of Isabela Island. This is possibly the only place in the planet where we can observe the features of the inner wall of a caldera. We took this chance to talk about the geology of the Galapagos Islands while observing the massive cliffs that served for shelter for many species of sea birds.
We ended our day crossing the equator on board National Geographic Endeavour II, while enjoying wine tasting on the sky deck with a great view of the landscape of Isabela Island.
