Punta Vicente Roca & Punta Espinosa
We are navigating along the northern shore of Isabela Island, and it is six in the morning. This is our habitual whale watching time; today we are not successful. The brief and unsatisfying (never could really see them!) encounter with a small pod of common dolphins is compensated by the serenity of the environment. It is really fulfilling to see the dramatic changes in the contours of the volcanic landscape along the shoreline.
Crossing the Equatorial line is such an event! We were able to “see” the line - on the GPS of course. A few minutes later while the Islander was already anchored, we experienced great excitement during a fabulous Zodiac ride. We were literally surrounded by penguins and turtles in this highly productive part of the ocean.
In the afternoon at Punta Espinosa, we had an overwhelming experience again! Under the scrutinizing eyes of a hawk perched on a branch of a dead mangrove tree and searching for a Galápagos snake, we reached the nesting ground of the flightless cormorants. They are still going on with their production of chicks! The blue-footed boobies, penguins, pelicans and brown noddys were feasting on the zillions of fish that are sustained by unimaginable amounts of plankton that inhabit these colsupwelling waters.
Early in the evening we feel the effect of the passed hours of excitement of this extraordinary day. After recap and a briefing about tomorrow we go to dinner and right after, well, straight to bed?! Sure, we know we need a good rest to face tomorrow’s surprises.
We are navigating along the northern shore of Isabela Island, and it is six in the morning. This is our habitual whale watching time; today we are not successful. The brief and unsatisfying (never could really see them!) encounter with a small pod of common dolphins is compensated by the serenity of the environment. It is really fulfilling to see the dramatic changes in the contours of the volcanic landscape along the shoreline.
Crossing the Equatorial line is such an event! We were able to “see” the line - on the GPS of course. A few minutes later while the Islander was already anchored, we experienced great excitement during a fabulous Zodiac ride. We were literally surrounded by penguins and turtles in this highly productive part of the ocean.
In the afternoon at Punta Espinosa, we had an overwhelming experience again! Under the scrutinizing eyes of a hawk perched on a branch of a dead mangrove tree and searching for a Galápagos snake, we reached the nesting ground of the flightless cormorants. They are still going on with their production of chicks! The blue-footed boobies, penguins, pelicans and brown noddys were feasting on the zillions of fish that are sustained by unimaginable amounts of plankton that inhabit these colsupwelling waters.
Early in the evening we feel the effect of the passed hours of excitement of this extraordinary day. After recap and a briefing about tomorrow we go to dinner and right after, well, straight to bed?! Sure, we know we need a good rest to face tomorrow’s surprises.
