Isabela and Fernandina Islands
We awoke to a landscape of enormous shield volcanoes this morning. We had traveled all night long to arrive at the youngest area of the archipelago; the western islands: Isabela and Fernandina.
The waters around these islands are the deepest of the archipelago. Due to the upwelling produced by Cromwell Current we find this is among the richest zones for marine life. For this reason whalers used to travel along these two islands looking for whales that came to breed near the Equator, among them Herman Melville. He visited the islands and wrote his book The Enchanted Islands.
The upwelling was also our reason for waking up early and to look for these fascinating sea mammals. We were rewarded with a sighting of a Bryde’s whale, sometimes called a tropical whale. After this event we had our breakfast and then we continued with a sailor’s tradition — a ceremony as we crossed the Equator. King Neptune himself was in attendance to celebrate this event.
We anchored in Punta Vicente Roca, a beautiful cove where we explored the shore from our Zodiacs. The largest marine iguanas of the islands are found here. We spotted the two flightless birds of Galápagos: the Flightless cormorant and the Galápagos penguin. Sea turtles were the highlight for the Zodiac ride and later for the snorkeling we swam surrounded by these reptiles.
In the afternoon we disembarked on the youngest island of the archipelago: Fernandina. It is hard to describe this place. As you walk on the new lava fields it feels as though you have travelled back in time to the origin of our planet. You’ll find a couple of pioneer plants. Lava cacti, that are making their way through the lava, a little bit of soil is being produced by these plants, and eventually secondary plants will be able to colonize the island. The strongest species of animals are the only ones to survive here, mainly reptiles: Lava lizards and the Galápagos snake on land, marine iguanas along the shores.
We returned to the ship with the last rays of light of the day, all of us with this extraordinary feeling of peace, filled with happiness of being able to witness the beauty of this paradise, and with curiosity to know more about the enchanted islands in the next days.
