Isabela & Fernandina Islands
The months of February and March are the warmest in the Galápagos; winds and currents coming from the south slowed down their strength dramatically, and make us feel as if the sunrays are stronger than ever. This unfortunately increases the humidity, but as a perk, the animal activity increases tremendously as most of the sea birds species enter their breeding season.
The western part of the Galápagos, Fernandina and Isabela specifically, receive upwells coming from the bottom of the sea, cooling and refreshing the air temperature.
The Volcanoes at the western side of the archipelago provide an impressive view, especially with the first light of the day hitting their eastern flanks. As soon as we got up we headed to the outer decks, because the navigation through these waters promised the encounter with marine mammals. Sure enough we saw a group of common dolphins before breakfast and a couple of Bryde’s whales after. The ocean waters are notorious over this region because of the abundance of marine life. Manta Rays, sea turtles, ocean sun fish, sea lions and fur seals were easily spotted as we headed to our anchorage site.
After an excellent Zodiac ride and snorkeling, we headed south to the encounter of the dark giant, as some of us like to refer to Fernandina Volcano.The lava fields cover ninety percent of the island itself, but the top of the volcano is covered on ash and cinder, which creates a perfect environment for some of the species that inhabit this island.
As for its coastline, there is no other place like it! Thousands of marine iguanas are found along its rough shoreline, and it is continued to increase due the high level of nesting areas that we found in our walk.
The months of February and March are the warmest in the Galápagos; winds and currents coming from the south slowed down their strength dramatically, and make us feel as if the sunrays are stronger than ever. This unfortunately increases the humidity, but as a perk, the animal activity increases tremendously as most of the sea birds species enter their breeding season.
The western part of the Galápagos, Fernandina and Isabela specifically, receive upwells coming from the bottom of the sea, cooling and refreshing the air temperature.
The Volcanoes at the western side of the archipelago provide an impressive view, especially with the first light of the day hitting their eastern flanks. As soon as we got up we headed to the outer decks, because the navigation through these waters promised the encounter with marine mammals. Sure enough we saw a group of common dolphins before breakfast and a couple of Bryde’s whales after. The ocean waters are notorious over this region because of the abundance of marine life. Manta Rays, sea turtles, ocean sun fish, sea lions and fur seals were easily spotted as we headed to our anchorage site.
After an excellent Zodiac ride and snorkeling, we headed south to the encounter of the dark giant, as some of us like to refer to Fernandina Volcano.The lava fields cover ninety percent of the island itself, but the top of the volcano is covered on ash and cinder, which creates a perfect environment for some of the species that inhabit this island.
As for its coastline, there is no other place like it! Thousands of marine iguanas are found along its rough shoreline, and it is continued to increase due the high level of nesting areas that we found in our walk.
