Isabela & Fernandina Island
The western side of the Galápagos Islands can be so unpredictable in terms of sightings, mostly because the area itself is particularly cooler than the rest of the archipelago and cold water brings a lot of food supply almost all year around; there is a prolific marine life such as marine mammals, sea turtles and a myriad of fish that are an active part of the food chain of the islands.
This morning at the first sign of light, we were already with binoculars and cameras on the outer deck for marine observation. We didn’t have to wait much to see a small group of common dolphins feeding graciously only a few yards away form the ship.
This was only the beginning, since Mother Nature had more surprises for us all. As we anchored at Punta Vicente Roca we lowered the Zodiacs to explore the nearby hills and have a first hand encounter with the wild life of the place. Few minutes later after we started our ride, we were surrounded by quite a few Ocean Sun Fish (Mola mola). This bizarre looking fish was the highlight of the morning, as all of them moved slowly only a few inches below the Zodiac.
The undersea realm of this area turned out to be just as great as the land above! We jumped into the water and found ourselves face to face with sea lions, sea turtles and penguins.
These cool waters right on the equator are home to thousands of sea turtles that forage in the coastal shallow waters and breed on the nearby beaches.As we explored the under water world, we could also enjoy few of the sea birds species that the island possesses, as large numbers of them were found along the cliff sections of the island.
For the afternoon we disembarked on Fernandina Island for a walk at Punta Espinosa. This area harbors one of the largest marine iguana and flightless cormorants nesting grounds. Everything was found just few yards away from the path!
Fernandina Island is also the right place to admire the beauty of a new island on the planet on the process to be colonized. Small pioneer plants face daily struggle for survival on the barren lavas flows that literally cover the entire landscape. In other words, Fernandina is the place where you can see natural selection and the process of evolution right in front of your eyes!
The western side of the Galápagos Islands can be so unpredictable in terms of sightings, mostly because the area itself is particularly cooler than the rest of the archipelago and cold water brings a lot of food supply almost all year around; there is a prolific marine life such as marine mammals, sea turtles and a myriad of fish that are an active part of the food chain of the islands.
This morning at the first sign of light, we were already with binoculars and cameras on the outer deck for marine observation. We didn’t have to wait much to see a small group of common dolphins feeding graciously only a few yards away form the ship.
This was only the beginning, since Mother Nature had more surprises for us all. As we anchored at Punta Vicente Roca we lowered the Zodiacs to explore the nearby hills and have a first hand encounter with the wild life of the place. Few minutes later after we started our ride, we were surrounded by quite a few Ocean Sun Fish (Mola mola). This bizarre looking fish was the highlight of the morning, as all of them moved slowly only a few inches below the Zodiac.
The undersea realm of this area turned out to be just as great as the land above! We jumped into the water and found ourselves face to face with sea lions, sea turtles and penguins.
These cool waters right on the equator are home to thousands of sea turtles that forage in the coastal shallow waters and breed on the nearby beaches.As we explored the under water world, we could also enjoy few of the sea birds species that the island possesses, as large numbers of them were found along the cliff sections of the island.
For the afternoon we disembarked on Fernandina Island for a walk at Punta Espinosa. This area harbors one of the largest marine iguana and flightless cormorants nesting grounds. Everything was found just few yards away from the path!
Fernandina Island is also the right place to admire the beauty of a new island on the planet on the process to be colonized. Small pioneer plants face daily struggle for survival on the barren lavas flows that literally cover the entire landscape. In other words, Fernandina is the place where you can see natural selection and the process of evolution right in front of your eyes!
