Isabela & Fernandina Islands
It was wonderful to watch the sunrise with the background of the huge shield volcanoes on the northwestern side of Isabela Island. This inspiring sight announced the beginning of another great day in this marvelous archipelago. In fact, we had a spectacular encounter; on the horizon, we spotted a large pod of common dolphins. They were very close to our ship giving us an amazing show and the unusual chance to take extraordinary pictures with the sun still rising in the background.
We continued our navigation, crossing the Equator line. King Neptune, together with his pirates, took over our ship and let us cross his domain just after we accepted becoming Galápagos Shellbacks! After the amusing ceremony, we dropped anchor and proceeded to lower down our fleet of Zodiacs. We went for a Zodiac ride to explore the coastal areas at a place called Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela Island. During the Zodiac ride we came across Galápagos penguins, lots of Pacific green sea turtles, many sea birds, and a giant ocean sun fish (Mola mola). Shortly afterwards we went to a nearby bay to practice deep water snorkeling. We had great sightings of Pacific green sea turtles. Some were seen just resting on the sea floor right below while others were passing by and seemed to be curious about us. Still other turtles swam by at a close range, totally fearless and unconcerned.
In the afternoon we headed to Fernandina Island. This island is the youngest in the Galápagos archipelago. Fernandina is well-known for the huge number of marine iguanas that inhabit this site, and for a permanent population of Flightless cormorants that live there as well. While walking on the northeastern corner of Punta Espinoza, the visitor’s site, we found many marine iguanas digging burrows to lay their eggs.
We finished our day surrounded by volcanoes, with a gorgeous sunset and with really good memories and experiences that we will never forget.
It was wonderful to watch the sunrise with the background of the huge shield volcanoes on the northwestern side of Isabela Island. This inspiring sight announced the beginning of another great day in this marvelous archipelago. In fact, we had a spectacular encounter; on the horizon, we spotted a large pod of common dolphins. They were very close to our ship giving us an amazing show and the unusual chance to take extraordinary pictures with the sun still rising in the background.
We continued our navigation, crossing the Equator line. King Neptune, together with his pirates, took over our ship and let us cross his domain just after we accepted becoming Galápagos Shellbacks! After the amusing ceremony, we dropped anchor and proceeded to lower down our fleet of Zodiacs. We went for a Zodiac ride to explore the coastal areas at a place called Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela Island. During the Zodiac ride we came across Galápagos penguins, lots of Pacific green sea turtles, many sea birds, and a giant ocean sun fish (Mola mola). Shortly afterwards we went to a nearby bay to practice deep water snorkeling. We had great sightings of Pacific green sea turtles. Some were seen just resting on the sea floor right below while others were passing by and seemed to be curious about us. Still other turtles swam by at a close range, totally fearless and unconcerned.
In the afternoon we headed to Fernandina Island. This island is the youngest in the Galápagos archipelago. Fernandina is well-known for the huge number of marine iguanas that inhabit this site, and for a permanent population of Flightless cormorants that live there as well. While walking on the northeastern corner of Punta Espinoza, the visitor’s site, we found many marine iguanas digging burrows to lay their eggs.
We finished our day surrounded by volcanoes, with a gorgeous sunset and with really good memories and experiences that we will never forget.
