Punta Vicente Roca & Punta Espinosa
What a day! Today we experience the inversion layer! This is a drastic modification of the oceanographic conditions in the East Pacific, but it is normal during the dry season, which by the way is not now; as a result of this phenomenon, we had the presence of a thick fog that surrounded our good ship The Islander. Up to eight in the morning we still didn’t have good visibility at all, however, not too much after that, the sun started to brighten enough to dissipate the fog. It was then when it happened…from the dying fog three human figures appeared and boarded the ship. There it was King Neptune and two of his pirates. With the help of the pirates, they managed to capture all the people on board that had never crossed the equator line before on a ship, and they were all baptized and therefore allowed to continue their crossing.
Once granted permission by the King Neptune to anchor at Punta Vicente Roca, we headed to our encounter with an incredible amount of sea turtles. Both from the Zodiacs and kayaks we had a great view of this sort of reptilian primordial soup! The water was thick with plankton and somehow cold, but it was an exceptional opportunity to spend time with these ancient animals, as well as with some penguins and cormorants.
,br>Lunch seemed appropriate after such an unequalled morning. It was certainly delicious too, since we learn all about the Ecuadorian cosine and its delicacies.
Our afternoon at Punta Espinosa was enriched by the presence of the famous flightless cormorants, which we observed in the middle of their nesting time. Large numbers of marine iguanas “adorned” the basaltic landscape, while sea lions were simply resting and enjoying their lazy life.
As we were leaving one of the largest nesting grounds for marine iguanas at Punta Espinoza, we couldn’t help but notice the amazing landscape. Six tall volcanoes in the horizon, shielding the secrets that would be soon discover by us, as we returned to the ship to continue our exploration.
What a day! Today we experience the inversion layer! This is a drastic modification of the oceanographic conditions in the East Pacific, but it is normal during the dry season, which by the way is not now; as a result of this phenomenon, we had the presence of a thick fog that surrounded our good ship The Islander. Up to eight in the morning we still didn’t have good visibility at all, however, not too much after that, the sun started to brighten enough to dissipate the fog. It was then when it happened…from the dying fog three human figures appeared and boarded the ship. There it was King Neptune and two of his pirates. With the help of the pirates, they managed to capture all the people on board that had never crossed the equator line before on a ship, and they were all baptized and therefore allowed to continue their crossing.
Once granted permission by the King Neptune to anchor at Punta Vicente Roca, we headed to our encounter with an incredible amount of sea turtles. Both from the Zodiacs and kayaks we had a great view of this sort of reptilian primordial soup! The water was thick with plankton and somehow cold, but it was an exceptional opportunity to spend time with these ancient animals, as well as with some penguins and cormorants.
,br>Lunch seemed appropriate after such an unequalled morning. It was certainly delicious too, since we learn all about the Ecuadorian cosine and its delicacies.
Our afternoon at Punta Espinosa was enriched by the presence of the famous flightless cormorants, which we observed in the middle of their nesting time. Large numbers of marine iguanas “adorned” the basaltic landscape, while sea lions were simply resting and enjoying their lazy life.
As we were leaving one of the largest nesting grounds for marine iguanas at Punta Espinoza, we couldn’t help but notice the amazing landscape. Six tall volcanoes in the horizon, shielding the secrets that would be soon discover by us, as we returned to the ship to continue our exploration.
