Isabela & Fernandina
The Galápagos Islands save a lot of surprises even for people that have been observing the same place for many years. This morning as usual our Captain took us on time to Punta Vicente Roca; before we arrived, some of the officers saw rare splashing on the horizon. It was an incredibly huge group of 500 to 600 common dolphins that are not often observed in that quantity here in Galápagos. Our guests were tired from the last day’s activities, but say the word dolphin and they’ll be there in an instant.
Punta Vicente Roca is part of the largest island in the archipelago. The most impressive geology will be easily observed from the last decks of the National Geographic Islander. Half of the caldera of volcano Ecuador collapsed a long time ago. When, exactly, is still a mystery. The markings of the rocks are only circumstantial evidence that cannot be used to determine this.
We did spend a great time on the Zodiac ride along the shores with great chances of observing Pacific green sea turtles, flightless cormorants, penguins and iguanas on the rocks. Also a manta ray nearly 14 feet wide showed up during the time we were far away from the shores in search of the rare sunfish. It was difficult because at the same time the manta came up to us, the sunfish also came to us. Then he turned back and swam in a different direction. It was hard to decide who to follow!
The snorkeling can be a great activity especially if we are completely relaxed drifting with the current and watching sea turtles rest at the bottom, holding their breath for more than 30 minutes. Some important fish were cleaning them of some copepods and algae that grow on top of them, creating more drag and reducing their speed. This place is well-known as a cleaning station, used by many large animals with many benefits for the cleaners also.
Lynn our Expedition Leader started to call us in, so that we would be on time for the arrival at our next destination. We came back to the ship on time and started the navigation to Punta Espinosa on Fernandina. During the time we had lunch, an unexpected group of sperm whales were observed. Our guests forgot about lunch and suddenly our crew members were also outside to check out this rare group of animals that cannot be observed easily. We spent more time than usual following them at a respectful distance so as not to scare them away. It is pure coincidence to find and appreciate some of the most impressive animals in the ocean around this place.
We arrived to Fernandina just on time to walk on the most pristine Island of the Galápagos, which is a place that gives you the idea of how everything started. It is also a place with one of the most active volcanoes in the world; it just erupted in 2009 and some guest around that time witnessed the lava flows at night descending from some small parasite cones. We saw some interesting animals today, including marine iguanas that are one of the largest varieties found in the archipelago.
Sunset came too soon as we were walking back to board the Zodiacs. The amazing colors delayed our departure from the island, but we were very happy to have the opportunity to walk in this paradise.
