Fernandina Island
Penguins on the Equator? Standing on lava? Strange as it seems, we found just that at Punta Espinoza on the northwest tip of Isla Fernandina, the youngest and westernmost of the Galapagos Islands. All 17 species of the world’s penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere with the little Galapagos penguin reaching the furthest north. Only 1,200 live here, sustained by the cold rich waters of the Cromwell Current. We approached slowly and quietly in our pangas as the penguins stood preening and resting.
The day began at Roca Redonda, an islet rising above the morning mist. Clouds of Audubon’s shearwaters surrounded the ship. Heading south, we spotted 300 common dolphins leaping from the sea. Off the northern tip of Isla Isabela we enjoyed a panga ride in the sunshine and later an hour of snorkeling with green sea turtles and cavorting Galapagos sea lions.
By mid-afternoon we had arrived at Isla Fernandina. After our time with the penguins, we ventured overland on young black lava where marine iguanas gathered in a scene that stirred memories of Jurassic Park. No wonder Charles Darwin called them “imps of darkness.” Standing there, we watched as the iguanas swam ashore and commuted over the lava to join their brethren in large piles where they would sleep for the night. A little farther on, we walked single file over a white shell beach where depressions here and there showed where the iguanas had laid their eggs. Even in a place born of fire, these remarkable creatures not only survive, they prosper.
Clouds had advanced over the skies by late afternoon, but not over our spirits. On the panga ride back to the Polaris, we watched boobies and frigatebirds winging over calm waters, and counted ourselves lucky to see nature as something young, ancient, harsh, delicate, precious, and resilient.
Penguins on the Equator? Standing on lava? Strange as it seems, we found just that at Punta Espinoza on the northwest tip of Isla Fernandina, the youngest and westernmost of the Galapagos Islands. All 17 species of the world’s penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere with the little Galapagos penguin reaching the furthest north. Only 1,200 live here, sustained by the cold rich waters of the Cromwell Current. We approached slowly and quietly in our pangas as the penguins stood preening and resting.
The day began at Roca Redonda, an islet rising above the morning mist. Clouds of Audubon’s shearwaters surrounded the ship. Heading south, we spotted 300 common dolphins leaping from the sea. Off the northern tip of Isla Isabela we enjoyed a panga ride in the sunshine and later an hour of snorkeling with green sea turtles and cavorting Galapagos sea lions.
By mid-afternoon we had arrived at Isla Fernandina. After our time with the penguins, we ventured overland on young black lava where marine iguanas gathered in a scene that stirred memories of Jurassic Park. No wonder Charles Darwin called them “imps of darkness.” Standing there, we watched as the iguanas swam ashore and commuted over the lava to join their brethren in large piles where they would sleep for the night. A little farther on, we walked single file over a white shell beach where depressions here and there showed where the iguanas had laid their eggs. Even in a place born of fire, these remarkable creatures not only survive, they prosper.
Clouds had advanced over the skies by late afternoon, but not over our spirits. On the panga ride back to the Polaris, we watched boobies and frigatebirds winging over calm waters, and counted ourselves lucky to see nature as something young, ancient, harsh, delicate, precious, and resilient.
