After crossing the equator last night and navigating around the north end of Isabela Island, our guests woke up at the westernmost realm of the Galapagos. By sunrise, the captain of the National Geographic Endeavour and its crew were steering across the Bolivar Canal that separates Isabela Island from Fernandina Island, our destination for the morning. Before breakfast, some guests headed to the bow of the ship, to help the naturalist search for marine life. We spotted manta rays, Galapagos shearwaters and storm petrels.
After a nutritious breakfast, we landed at Fernandina Island, which happens to be one of the most active volcanoes in the world and the most pristine Galapagos Island. At Punta Espinosa, our landing site, our guests were surprised by a welcoming committee made up of a Galapagos flightless cormorant and two Galapagos penguins. Once on the trail, we found a great number of marine iguanas basking on the dark lava rocks next to the trail, as well as some young Galapagos sea lions that were playing on a tide pool. After spending some time with the sea lions and learning about their natural history, we continued on the trail until we arrived to an area where we were able to observe marine iguanas swimming near the coast, and every now and then some Pacific green sea turtles popped the heads out of the water for air. It was about noon when we headed back to the National Geographic Endeavour.
After lunch, we dropped anchor at Punta Vicente Roca, located at the northwestern end of Isabela Island. Our afternoon activities began with a snorkeling outing, to explore the marine life that inhabits this side of the islands. The sea conditions of the site were optimal, and everybody that joined this expedition got the chance to see underwater Galapagos penguins, flightless cormorants, sea lions and a couple of white-tipped reef sharks. After everybody returned from snorkeling, we still had time to go for Zodiac rides along the imposing cliffs, where we found marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies and Galapagos fur seals.
Once we were all back onboard, everybody joined at the bow of the National Geographic Endeavour to watch the sunset and to celebrate crossing the equator. It was a great way to end a wonderful day in the Galapagos!
