Isabela & Fernandina Islands
The Islander has been navigating all night long to reach the western most part of this archipelago. Here we expect the unexpected, and indeed early this morning we spotted a large pod of common dolphins. Expedition Leader Lynn made the ship wide wake up call and we all got a good look at these acrobatic creatures as they leapt and splashed off our bow. Soon after crossing the equator, we had another fabulous sighting. This time we found a group of 6 orcas, the top ocean predators. Islander Captain Pablo Garces followed them as well as he could before moving on toward Vicente Roca. We got good looks at the large male and a pair of females with very small babies.
At Punta Vicente we had a lovely Zodiac ride; because of the cold, nutrient rich waters, this area is teeming with life. We observed marine turtles here and there, huge marine iguanas swimming near the coast where they were diving to feed on algae, fast swimming penguins feeding on tiny fish and blue-footed boobies plunge diving. Our snorkel outing in slightly turbid waters was extremely rewarding: we saw turtles and cormorants along with many fish species.
In the afternoon the “pangueros” in their Zodiacs took us ashore at Punta Espinoza. The island of Fernandina is a magical place and one of the most pristine and untouched islands in the world. As soon as you land on the barren lava shores, you not only see, but also feel the uniqueness of this special place. A hike here gives us an idea of what these islands must have been like in the very beginning: devoid of life at first, due to a very harsh environment. Then the first resilient colonizers arrived and as more and more species made the difficult 600 mile ocean crossing and established here, a simple chain of life was achieved.
The walk was fantastic: among hundreds of iguanas, nesting cormorants and sealions. We sipped cocktails on the sky deck as the orange globe of the sun dropped behind the shield volcano of Fernandina. After dinner we turned off all the ship’s upperlevel lights and gazed at the starry heavens. Great day!
The Islander has been navigating all night long to reach the western most part of this archipelago. Here we expect the unexpected, and indeed early this morning we spotted a large pod of common dolphins. Expedition Leader Lynn made the ship wide wake up call and we all got a good look at these acrobatic creatures as they leapt and splashed off our bow. Soon after crossing the equator, we had another fabulous sighting. This time we found a group of 6 orcas, the top ocean predators. Islander Captain Pablo Garces followed them as well as he could before moving on toward Vicente Roca. We got good looks at the large male and a pair of females with very small babies.
At Punta Vicente we had a lovely Zodiac ride; because of the cold, nutrient rich waters, this area is teeming with life. We observed marine turtles here and there, huge marine iguanas swimming near the coast where they were diving to feed on algae, fast swimming penguins feeding on tiny fish and blue-footed boobies plunge diving. Our snorkel outing in slightly turbid waters was extremely rewarding: we saw turtles and cormorants along with many fish species.
In the afternoon the “pangueros” in their Zodiacs took us ashore at Punta Espinoza. The island of Fernandina is a magical place and one of the most pristine and untouched islands in the world. As soon as you land on the barren lava shores, you not only see, but also feel the uniqueness of this special place. A hike here gives us an idea of what these islands must have been like in the very beginning: devoid of life at first, due to a very harsh environment. Then the first resilient colonizers arrived and as more and more species made the difficult 600 mile ocean crossing and established here, a simple chain of life was achieved.
The walk was fantastic: among hundreds of iguanas, nesting cormorants and sealions. We sipped cocktails on the sky deck as the orange globe of the sun dropped behind the shield volcano of Fernandina. After dinner we turned off all the ship’s upperlevel lights and gazed at the starry heavens. Great day!
