Punta Vicente Roca & Fernandina Island
We started our daily activities early. At the time, we were cruising around the northern side of Isabela Island. Here we admired the majesty of the volcanoes that form Isabela and all its lava flows. The ocean was calm and we enjoyed a nice cool breeze on our faces as we observed the marine birds in their feeding frenzies and dozens of Galápagos fur seals swimming in the open ocean on their way back to Isabela after feeding off-shore.
At approximately 9:00 am we crossed the equator line. We were exited and gathered at the bridge to watch on the GPS the moment we struck 0 degrees latitude. It happens in matter of a fraction of a second and right away we were navigating in the southern hemisphere.
A few moments later we anchored at the foot of a huge red cliff characteristic to Punta Vicente Roca. Here we boarded the zodiacs and off we went in search of more marine life and highlights typical to the area. At the moment we approached the shore we spotted a number of Galápagos fur seals frolicking in the surf at the same time some marine iguanas were swimming and diving in search of seaweeds among schools of tropical fishes.
This area is a class A snorkeling site and the number of marine organisms is just overwhelming. As soon as you are in the water you are surrounded by sea turtles, tropical fishes, cormorants, and sea lions, to mention a few.
In the late afternoon we disembarked on Fernandina Island and explored the area which is full of surprises. Here on Fernandina you can find the largest colonies of marine iguanas mixed up with Galápagos sea lions, flightless cormorants and hundreds of orange-red sally light foot crabs
It was an amazing expedition; I can’t wait to see more!
