Northern Isabela & Fernandina Islands
The first pod of dolphins were early for our meeting this morning. They leapt and dove in the pre-dawn glow at 0530 for only our first officer Fernando to see and enjoy. My alarm rang at 0600 and I called the bridge; the dolphins had run off to the east so we continued on our westerly course. I gave a hopeful early wake up for all those on PA channel one, telling our sleeping guests that conditions were perfect, dolphins had already been sighted and that they should grab their binoculars and join us on deck.
The sea was mirror-calm, the sun glowed on the small islet of Roca Redonda to the north and we searched the horizon for marine mammals. Sea birds were abundant: Galápagos shearwaters, storm petrels, dark-rumped petrels, noddy terns and our fist Nazca boobies. At last we spotted the long dark back of a whale ahead – a Bryde’s whale. This is a medium sized baleen whale that is fairly common in tropical oceans. We discerned that there were two of them, spouting, surfacing and diving not far from our ship.
I yelled excitedly when I saw four dolphin-like shapes surfacing ahead. Too large for dolphins, triangular dorsal fin, odd behavior, no spouts…what are they?? As we approached, I realized they were brownish in color – Cuvier’s beaked whales!!!!! WOW! Even in the marine mammal guide books they state “these whales are poorly studied and rarely seen at sea.” For me – this excellent and unusual whale sighting - was an early Christmas gift. For those celebrating Hanukah with us this week, they claim this good fortune was thanks to their holiday luck!
We had barely finished breakfast when a call from the bridge and my subsequent announcement sent everyone scurrying to the decks again: a huge pod of common dolphins were leaping and splashing ahead of us. We were able to approach and enjoyed their grace and beauty on this splendid and special morning.
Our Zodiac ride along the coast of Northern Isabela produced many sea turtles, flightless cormorants, penguins and huge marine iguanas. Later we snorkeled with turtles, schools of king angel fish, black striped salema (booby food) and razor fish.
In the afternoon our hike on the pristine island of Fernandina was marvelous. Once again we were entertained by the ubiquitous sea lions, and we hiked past dozens of marine iguanas in the mood for love. The males were setting up their territories with vigorous shakes of their heads and jowls, and we all watched two really big fellows in a serious and bloody battle. Cormorants were nesting and one pair had a several weeks old chick.
It has been yet another wonderful day in the enchanted islands of Galápagos!
To see footage from this day, please click here.
