Isabela & Fernandina
Early this morning we admired the beauty of Wolf Volcano from our ship; we were on the northern coast of Isabela Island. We found lots of sea birds in this region, several of them looking for food. We spotted Galápagos petrels, shearwaters, and several others flying close to the ship and circling around, and one after the other we enjoyed seeing their graceful flight.
Later on we crossed the Equator line and observed the dramatic coastline of Ecuador volcano and its steep walls; its caldera is covered by sharp black lava, the evidence of an active past full of volcanic eruptions.
We dropped our anchor after our scenic navigation along the coast of northern Isabela; this time we used our Zodiacs for a ride along the coast of Punta Vicente Roca, and there we found Galápagos sea lions, penguin, cormorants, and lots of sea turtles. The water was nice and warm; we went snorkeling after our coastal exploration, and we had a lot of fun swimming with sea turtles, and a very large Manta ray.
During lunch we navigated to Fernandina Island, and our Video Chronicler spotted a suspicious tall black fin. There, slowly swimming, was a male orca. Later on a female showed up a couple of times; both vanished as fast as they appeared. After this brief encounter with the top predator of the oceans, we prepared ourselves and went ashore to explore Fernandina and its large colonies of marine iguanas.
We returned aboard and after dinner we had Galápagos sea lions fishing near our ship. In the darkness, we could hear them breathing and splashing all around.
