Isabela and Fernandina Islands
The western side of the Galápagos Islands is the “real deal” in terms of marine life sightings, landscapes and shorelines teeming with life. And this is the area we visited today!
This morning we woke up to a pod of common dolphins breaching all around the ship. With a cool breeze and a clear sky we crossed the Equator while taking in the beauty of the volcanoes of Isabela Island. Later on we anchored at Punta Vicente Roca for a Zodiac ride to explore the area.
This place is located on the northwestern side of Isabela, and it happens to be home to Galápagos penguins, blue-footed boobies and flightless cormorants, to mention a few. At the end of the Zodiac ride we headed to the snorkeling site. There, we had the opportunity to snorkel with sea turtles, sea lions and myriads of fish of different sizes and colors!
The Pacific green sea turtles are largely around the western side of the Galápagos archipelago. This population of Pacific green sea turtles is the largest in the world and considered a healthy population due to the size of the marine reserve and the protection they enjoy. So far we know we have a population of over 9,000 females that nest every year on these beaches.
In the afternoon we landed on Fernandina for a walk to explore the iguanas’ realm. Indeed we found iguanas, and they live in this place by the thousands. Fernandina is not only home to iguanas but also to many other unique creatures such as flightless cormorants, sea lions, harmless Galápagos snakes and many others.
It was a day in prime wilderness!
