Punta Vicente Roca & Punta Espinosa
Rainy season! Well, for sure until yesterday. Today, however, during our navigation along the northern shore of Isabela Island, we noticed that something was different. There were lots of disruptions at the surface of the ocean caused by the emergence of cold deep water, the upwelling. On these, lots of birds and sea lions were gathering; a real frenzy displayed in front of our eyes. Also, we experienced a cold breeze, but coming from the northwest, while the swell was coming from the northeast. At the distance due west, we all saw how heavy clouds were being formed while, very close to the ship, it was possible to see the evaporation of the surface water in the form of this light mist. While all these things were happening, we were once again able to cross successfully the equatorial line. And it was a rush!
Nearby, a pod of common dolphins appeared and stayed close to the NG Islander for about 30 minutes. What a spectacle they performed. Along the coastline during our Zodiac ride, we found a good number of turtles and flightless cormorants. We enjoyed this particular cormorant trying to steal the little fish caught by a young sea lion. A huge manta ray also made its presence known even though it was more like a glimpse. The sun fish were also in the vicinity but, skittish as they could be, we had but a brief encounter with them.
During the snorkeling we enjoyed the presence of a tenacious flightless cormorant working hard to catch a fish way too big. Even in bad shape, the fish managed to escape. The cormorant wasn’t happy, and he charged against the video camera. At least his hunger would be immortalized.
The afternoon was superb. We experienced the highest tide ever and besides having to wade right after having a “dry” landing, we also walked on a flooded trail. We finished dragging a large set of soaked shoes. As a result of this extra high tide, the iguana nesting ground, normally dry, was splashed and several nests got destroyed. Also the cormorants had some losses, but life keeps going on and they will recover from this (I don’t know if the wet shoes will ever smell the same though!). By the way, I don’t remember having seen so many sally lightfoot crabs before.
The natural conditions set on isolated islands like the Galápagos are startling and every day we make new discoveries while resetting our knowledge. Our sincere hope is that all these circumstances will help everybody to be more aware of the messages sent by nature.
Rainy season! Well, for sure until yesterday. Today, however, during our navigation along the northern shore of Isabela Island, we noticed that something was different. There were lots of disruptions at the surface of the ocean caused by the emergence of cold deep water, the upwelling. On these, lots of birds and sea lions were gathering; a real frenzy displayed in front of our eyes. Also, we experienced a cold breeze, but coming from the northwest, while the swell was coming from the northeast. At the distance due west, we all saw how heavy clouds were being formed while, very close to the ship, it was possible to see the evaporation of the surface water in the form of this light mist. While all these things were happening, we were once again able to cross successfully the equatorial line. And it was a rush!
Nearby, a pod of common dolphins appeared and stayed close to the NG Islander for about 30 minutes. What a spectacle they performed. Along the coastline during our Zodiac ride, we found a good number of turtles and flightless cormorants. We enjoyed this particular cormorant trying to steal the little fish caught by a young sea lion. A huge manta ray also made its presence known even though it was more like a glimpse. The sun fish were also in the vicinity but, skittish as they could be, we had but a brief encounter with them.
During the snorkeling we enjoyed the presence of a tenacious flightless cormorant working hard to catch a fish way too big. Even in bad shape, the fish managed to escape. The cormorant wasn’t happy, and he charged against the video camera. At least his hunger would be immortalized.
The afternoon was superb. We experienced the highest tide ever and besides having to wade right after having a “dry” landing, we also walked on a flooded trail. We finished dragging a large set of soaked shoes. As a result of this extra high tide, the iguana nesting ground, normally dry, was splashed and several nests got destroyed. Also the cormorants had some losses, but life keeps going on and they will recover from this (I don’t know if the wet shoes will ever smell the same though!). By the way, I don’t remember having seen so many sally lightfoot crabs before.
The natural conditions set on isolated islands like the Galápagos are startling and every day we make new discoveries while resetting our knowledge. Our sincere hope is that all these circumstances will help everybody to be more aware of the messages sent by nature.
