Northern Isabela & Fernandina
Those who woke at sunrise and joined us on deck, enjoyed a calm sea, lovely gentle light illuminating billowy clouds, the green shield volcano of Wolf (green since we were here just last week, because it has begun to rain!) and soaring sea birds. First officer Fernando spotted hovering frigates, shearwaters, noddy terns and a lone Nazca booby, and turned the ship towards them. The large leaping and splashing shapes proved to be huge tunas chasing bait fish. We watched this feeding frenzy and then continued on our course. Just as we were considering heading to breakfast I finally found the dolphins! There were a couple hundred common dolphins over a mile ahead and to the north. This time I made a ship wide announcement and we spent twenty minutes watching them leap and jump.
After breakfast, we crossed the equatorial line and then Captain Carlos dropped our anchor off the dramatic cliffs of Punta Vicente Roca. We boarded our fleet of floating limos – the Zodiacs – and were delighted to find much wildlife along the rugged shoreline. Penguins, sea lions, furs seals, marine iguana both large and small, noddy terns, sea turtles, Nazca and blue-footed boobies, and cormorants were found both in and out of the water.
We wiggled into wet suits and grabbed our snorkeling gear for a swim from the Zodiacs. The water temperature was pleasant and we spent the next hour swimming with sea turtles, king angel fish, huge schools of mullet and salema, and feeding penguins and cormorants. The water was full of plankton, which made for less than optimal visibility, but all this potential food also accounted for the incredible amount of marine life that we found in the bay.
Our afternoon walk was on the lava shores of Punta Espinoza, Fernandina. Fernandina is the world’s second most active volcano, and last erupted in April of 2009! From a distance, these shores look deserted and barren. But we were amazed at the variety and amount of wildlife on this walk. Marine iguanas were literally piled around us. The biggest males were fighting, setting up territories and mating with the much smaller females. Sea lions, including some unbelievably cute young pups, entertained us with their antics, and the beach masters with their arguments. We found and photographed the strange, endemic flightless cormorants.
The walk was hot and humid, so when I suggested a swim from the ship upon our return, about half our guests eagerly dove into the cool ocean waters. That was a lovely way to end what had been a fabulous day in the magical Islas Gálapagos.
