Punta Vicente Roca & Fernandina Island
The National Geographic Endeavour took us to the western most part of the Galápagos Archipelago, where we were amazed by the very beginning of the geological history of these islands.
As we navigated early in the morning towards the entrance of the Bolivar Channel, we saw many sea birds such as Galápagos Shear Waters, Storm Petrels, Nazca Boobies, and Frigate Birds. And then we started heading downhill to cross the famous and invisible Equatorial line that divides the world in its better half and the other half. All our guests had a ceremony at the bow of the National Geographic Endeavour, and the ones who knew about it were on the outer decks waiting for the ship’s horn, what an excitement! Less than a second and the line was officially crossed.
When we finally anchored at Punta Vicente Roca, we got on our Zodiacs and went out to explore the vertical beautiful shores and look for the largest and oddest looking fish on earth. This fish is known as Ocean Sun Fish (Mola mola), and it belongs to the puffer fish family. Soon we met Galápagos Penguins, Flightless Cormorants and the biggest marine iguanas in the world…
After this Panga ride we returned back on board and got dressed up to explore the underwater world, with the help of flippers, wetsuits and masks. Turtles made our day!!!
We returned to the ship at noon for lunch and a much deserved siesta. Fernandina Island was our next destination. This is a pristine area with no introduced species at all, and that’s the reason why it is called a jewel Island. We visited tidal pools with lots of turtles and iguanas while walking on the island, and we could get close to Flightless Cormorants, lots of sea lions and the main predator of this place: the Galápagos hawk, besides dwelling in a gorgeous lava cactus forest. What a wonderful day we had!
