Isabela and Fernandina Islands
This morning many of us were tuned into Channel 1 and heard Lynn’s optional early wake-up call. It was a beautiful calm morning and we were glad to be on deck. Our efforts were well rewarded with a pod of hundreds of common dolphins that leapt and splashed and swam around the ship. We were told that this species is often a victim of industrial fishing in the Pacific and hence they are ship-shy around Galápagos. These individuals came quite close and we circled through them several times. Galápagos storm petrels, noddy terns and the rare Galápagos dark-rumped petrel were also flying around us. After breakfast we crowded into the bridge and counted down as we crossed the Equatorial Line.
Once the ship had anchored off Punta Vicente Roca we chose between a Zodiac ride in search of wildlife, learning to drive a Zodiac ourselves, or sea kayaking. We all enjoyed the outings and close encounters with sea turtles, sea lions, a mola mola (pelagic sunfish), a shark, cormorants and penguins. Later on in the day, we snorkelled among the many sea turtles. Lunch today we enjoyed a fancy, typical Ecuadorian buffet and we did it justice as we had by then worked up a good appetite!
On our afternoon panga ride off Punta Espinoza, Fernandina we spotted lots of penguins and got awesome photos of a Galápagos hawk feeding on a baby blue footed booby.
On shore we found a large colony of marine iguanas Their mating season has begun so the males are fighting for territories and the females will soon be nesting. This splendid and pristine island of Fernandina had so much for us to observe and experience!
This morning many of us were tuned into Channel 1 and heard Lynn’s optional early wake-up call. It was a beautiful calm morning and we were glad to be on deck. Our efforts were well rewarded with a pod of hundreds of common dolphins that leapt and splashed and swam around the ship. We were told that this species is often a victim of industrial fishing in the Pacific and hence they are ship-shy around Galápagos. These individuals came quite close and we circled through them several times. Galápagos storm petrels, noddy terns and the rare Galápagos dark-rumped petrel were also flying around us. After breakfast we crowded into the bridge and counted down as we crossed the Equatorial Line.
Once the ship had anchored off Punta Vicente Roca we chose between a Zodiac ride in search of wildlife, learning to drive a Zodiac ourselves, or sea kayaking. We all enjoyed the outings and close encounters with sea turtles, sea lions, a mola mola (pelagic sunfish), a shark, cormorants and penguins. Later on in the day, we snorkelled among the many sea turtles. Lunch today we enjoyed a fancy, typical Ecuadorian buffet and we did it justice as we had by then worked up a good appetite!
On our afternoon panga ride off Punta Espinoza, Fernandina we spotted lots of penguins and got awesome photos of a Galápagos hawk feeding on a baby blue footed booby.
On shore we found a large colony of marine iguanas Their mating season has begun so the males are fighting for territories and the females will soon be nesting. This splendid and pristine island of Fernandina had so much for us to observe and experience!
