Isabela & Fernandina Islands
We sailed last night a long way to reach the north westerly-most realm of Isabela Island, and in the process we crossed the equator line. We didn’t feel any “bump” as we crossed it during the night, but just to make it official, we crossed once again later in the morning after breakfast. After King Neptune’s apparition (not the Harry Potter type) we sailed down the coast of Ecuador volcano just to admire the omnipotence of a dormant giant. Long ago, half of it caldera collapsed into the sea, enabling us to observe the half still erected, as if defiant of its imminent destiny!
Later on we anchored on its southern slope, next to the cliffs of Punta Vicente Roca. Once embarked on the Zodiacs, we explored fully and closer to its amazing coastline. It was a perfect morning to look for the strange looking ocean sun fish. After several successful encounters with this gigantic fish, we continued with our explorations along the rest of the hill, finding flightless cormorants, sea turtles and sea lions along the way.
We had very nice, calm waters, and the gentle ocean breeze contrasted with the intense heat radiating from the sun above. This is what I call perfect conditions for a perfect Zodiac ride! As we returned to the Islander we jumped into our wetsuits and snorkeled with sea turtles, Galápagos penguins and sea lions!
After this amazing morning we headed towards one of the most pristine islands in the Galápagos, Fernandina. This afternoon we shared our time and space with Galápagos flightless cormorants, large groups of marine iguanas (and I mean large!) and the usual Galápagos sea lions.
Since Fernandina is the youngest island in Galápagos, we walked on really fresh lava flows, which had very little vegetation growing on it. One of the very few successful plants that were found along the way was the lava cacti. This highly specialized plant can break down the hard lava and convert it into excellent soil for the rest of the species to establish on it. After a wonderful walk on Fernandina we returned aboard and enjoyed a great sunset!
We sailed last night a long way to reach the north westerly-most realm of Isabela Island, and in the process we crossed the equator line. We didn’t feel any “bump” as we crossed it during the night, but just to make it official, we crossed once again later in the morning after breakfast. After King Neptune’s apparition (not the Harry Potter type) we sailed down the coast of Ecuador volcano just to admire the omnipotence of a dormant giant. Long ago, half of it caldera collapsed into the sea, enabling us to observe the half still erected, as if defiant of its imminent destiny!
Later on we anchored on its southern slope, next to the cliffs of Punta Vicente Roca. Once embarked on the Zodiacs, we explored fully and closer to its amazing coastline. It was a perfect morning to look for the strange looking ocean sun fish. After several successful encounters with this gigantic fish, we continued with our explorations along the rest of the hill, finding flightless cormorants, sea turtles and sea lions along the way.
We had very nice, calm waters, and the gentle ocean breeze contrasted with the intense heat radiating from the sun above. This is what I call perfect conditions for a perfect Zodiac ride! As we returned to the Islander we jumped into our wetsuits and snorkeled with sea turtles, Galápagos penguins and sea lions!
After this amazing morning we headed towards one of the most pristine islands in the Galápagos, Fernandina. This afternoon we shared our time and space with Galápagos flightless cormorants, large groups of marine iguanas (and I mean large!) and the usual Galápagos sea lions.
Since Fernandina is the youngest island in Galápagos, we walked on really fresh lava flows, which had very little vegetation growing on it. One of the very few successful plants that were found along the way was the lava cacti. This highly specialized plant can break down the hard lava and convert it into excellent soil for the rest of the species to establish on it. After a wonderful walk on Fernandina we returned aboard and enjoyed a great sunset!
