Fernandina and Isabela Islands
This morning we woke up on the western side of the archipelago with a gorgeous sunrise. It was nice to see the Ecuador, Wolf and Darwin volcanoes with their well-defined shield rim shapes. National Geographic Endeavour arrived at Punta Espinoza at 7:20 a.m. and dropped anchor while we all had a wonderful breakfast.
At 8:00 a.m. we went to visit Punta Espinoza with a dry landing on this uplifted jetty. We walked around and saw the largest marine iguanas in the archipelago. There were piles of them, their black color blending in to the black lava field. It was very spectacular to see these hideous, prehistoric creatures lying there as if the skies had showered them down.
We also saw the lava cactus (Brachycereus nesioticus) which is endemic as a species but also an endemic genus. We also saw the Fernandina racer snake moving around in search of lava lizards and baby iguanas. As we continued with our visit, we saw the Pacific green sea turtle, Galápagos sea lions and flightless cormorants swimming around.
At 10:00 a.m. we came back on board and got ready for our snorkeling expedition. This was a magic one because we saw Galápagos penguins in the water and also marine iguanas feeding underwater along with sea turtles.
Once we were all back on board, National Geographic Endeavour drew anchor and motored toward Punta Vicente Roca for our afternoon activities. Here we went for a Zodiac ride along the coast and saw a number of things such as penguins, Galápagos fur seals, sea turtles, flightless cormorants, blue-footed boobies and the wonderful geology of this place.
Right after this we headed toward the equator line and Sofia, our Expedition Leader, gave an explanation of the geology of Vulcan Ecuador and its sunken caldera. At the equator, the bar was laid out on the fore deck and we enjoyed cocktails as we crossed the line during a gorgeous sunset.
