Punta Vicente Roca and Punta Espinosa
An incredible beginning of the day! It was just 0600 in the morning when a pod of approximately three hundred common dolphins came to view. They spent a full hour swimming in circles within the same area, probably eating; maybe just having fun and we were enjoying them. Finally they disappeared into the mist that is so common when the ocean is chilly (that means now!!). We moved to have breakfast. It is amazing how much energy is dragged out of us when we cheer and express awe to nature.
The mist continued, but when we were at half a minute from the equator, the sky suddenly appeared, and it was possible to enjoy the equatorial experience with sun light by standing on the two hemispheres at once.
At midmorning some of us went kayaking and some others went on a Zodiac ride. We found at least twenty pacific sun fish. Later while snorkeling, we found out that the water was at an invigorating temperature, but with the presence of sea lions, cormorants and a sun fish plus the great experience of being surrounded by no less than a dozen penguins which oblivious to our presence, kept feeding on small black stripped salemas. Well, what can we say? We were mesmerized with not much time to notice the cold, but of course we did get hungry.
The typical Ecuadorian lunch was exquisite. It would be unfair to try to describe our meal. Just for you all to know, it was a good finale to the morning activities; and then it happened again! Another surprise! Within fifteen minutes of finishing our lunch, two Bryde’s whales were circling the ship. There were sporadic appearances but they were sufficient enough for us to enjoy them.
The afternoon on Punta Espinosa was no less exciting. There were forty-one flightless cormorants on their nesting ground and eight nests with eggs and chicks. Cormorants have been nesting in this area for more than a year now, non stop. The Galápagos Islands have a very healthy population of these flightless birds. The marine iguanas were no less in numbers and the aggregations of them were very extensive. The sky became overcast and some drops of a very late rain fell upon our shoulders, just to refresh us from the sun of the afternoon. It didn’t rain until later and the clouds were a good reminder of how changing the weather is on this wonderful archipelago.
An incredible beginning of the day! It was just 0600 in the morning when a pod of approximately three hundred common dolphins came to view. They spent a full hour swimming in circles within the same area, probably eating; maybe just having fun and we were enjoying them. Finally they disappeared into the mist that is so common when the ocean is chilly (that means now!!). We moved to have breakfast. It is amazing how much energy is dragged out of us when we cheer and express awe to nature.
The mist continued, but when we were at half a minute from the equator, the sky suddenly appeared, and it was possible to enjoy the equatorial experience with sun light by standing on the two hemispheres at once.
At midmorning some of us went kayaking and some others went on a Zodiac ride. We found at least twenty pacific sun fish. Later while snorkeling, we found out that the water was at an invigorating temperature, but with the presence of sea lions, cormorants and a sun fish plus the great experience of being surrounded by no less than a dozen penguins which oblivious to our presence, kept feeding on small black stripped salemas. Well, what can we say? We were mesmerized with not much time to notice the cold, but of course we did get hungry.
The typical Ecuadorian lunch was exquisite. It would be unfair to try to describe our meal. Just for you all to know, it was a good finale to the morning activities; and then it happened again! Another surprise! Within fifteen minutes of finishing our lunch, two Bryde’s whales were circling the ship. There were sporadic appearances but they were sufficient enough for us to enjoy them.
The afternoon on Punta Espinosa was no less exciting. There were forty-one flightless cormorants on their nesting ground and eight nests with eggs and chicks. Cormorants have been nesting in this area for more than a year now, non stop. The Galápagos Islands have a very healthy population of these flightless birds. The marine iguanas were no less in numbers and the aggregations of them were very extensive. The sky became overcast and some drops of a very late rain fell upon our shoulders, just to refresh us from the sun of the afternoon. It didn’t rain until later and the clouds were a good reminder of how changing the weather is on this wonderful archipelago.
