Isabela & Fernandina Islands
We started the morning with the majestic view of Ecuador volcano on Isabela Island, the biggest one in the Galápagos archipelago. After a quick visit from common dolphins and enjoying our breakfast, we went for a Zodiac ride at Punta Vicente Roca. Galápagos fur sea lions, green pacific marine turtles, marine iguanas, Galápagos penguins and flightless cormorants joined us.
But we didn’t just want to see them from the distance; we wanted to explore them up close in the nice warm waters, so we jumped in with our snorkeling equipment. Very curious sea lions approached us, and mating turtles were dancing close; a penguin was so busy preening in the surface that it didn’t care that we were watching it!
After we had a delicious Ecuadorian meal, the wildlife at Punta Espinoza, Fernandina Island was waiting for us. Our first great impressions were the hundreds of marine iguanas hugging each other to warm up. The rain started to fall, but that didn’t stop us from exploring the rest of the island. A big surprise was waiting for us: a western racer snake was digesting its food just beside the trail; they are not easy to spot and usually are very shy, but this one was not! We continued carefully, trying not to step on a nest of marine iguanas, almost impossible! The trail looked as a mined field full of holes with very busy females digging.
We finished our great day in paradise with a sunset that looked like an aquarelle painting!
