Isabela and Fernandina Islands
Nothing could be better than beginning an outstanding day with an early stretching session with our Wellness Specialist Roxana. While some of us were exercising others came up to the sky deck to search for whales. Later in the morning many of our guests joined Captain John Zurita at the bridge, they wanted to know exactly when we were crossing the Equator. Right after the Equator ceremony we spotted a whale in the distance. Our efforts paid off! We had a close observation of the Bryde’s Whale, a kind of tropical whale that fed on shrimplike krill as well as on small schooling fish such as sardines. We continued our navigation along the coast of Isabela Island, which offers views of a bizarre volcanic landscape, until we at our final destination for our morning visit at Punta Vicente Roca.
The morning activities started with a Zodiac ride along the coastline of Isabela Island; there we enjoyed the playful and graceful Galápagos sea lions that were swimming around our Zodiacs. In the distance we spotted the other species of sea lion that came from South America — the Galápagos fur seal. This kind of sea lion likes to form small colonies on rocky shores, mostly on the western island where water is colder. Furthermore, we found different species of shore birds such as Brown noddies, Blue-footed boobies, and Brown pelicans. Although the water temperature was 73¢ª F it was not cold enough to keep us from the water and exploring the underwater realm. The snorkeling activities took place from the Zodiacs. We observed dozens of Pacific green sea turtles, Galápagos penguins and a variety of tropical fish. We finished our morning activities with a delicious Peruvian style healthy food while we were heading to our next destination, Fernandina Island.
In the afternoon everybody was excited because we were visiting one of the youngest and most pristine islands in the Galápagos archipelago. As expected the so-called “dragons of the Galápagos” gave us a cordial welcome to the island. Hundreds of marine iguanas, the only sea going lizards in the world, were basking on the flat lava while others were still feeding on “ulva” algae in the cold waters of Canal Bolivar. Along the trail we also found Flightless cormorants that just came back ashore from their fishing activities. In addition, we were astonished by the unexpected sighting of a Galápagos racer snake, which is endemic to Fernandina Island. The snake we observed was not shy at all for it dragged between the feet of all our guests. Moreover, a Great Blue Heron was spotted just few meters away from us feeding on a juvenile marine iguana. Our afternoon trip finished with a great view of a pod of bottlenose dolphins swimming by the coast of Fernandina.
What an outstanding day!
