Roca Redonda, Isabela & Fernandina
Rising early for a spectacular view of the volcanic peak “Roca Redonda,” we could appreciate the numerous seabirds that call this rock their home. Flying all directions in a straight or erratic way, all were busy finding food or partners in their particular ways. Shearwaters, storm petrels, terns, boobies and tropicbirds all made their way around our ship. A phenomenal view indeed! In the distance, one could also spot a pod of common dolphins, busily feeding themselves in these cold, rich waters.
Just before crossing the Equator line, several “Mola mola” appeared off the northern coast of the island of Isabela. We really got a close look at these heavyweight, bullet-shaped, bony fishes, realizing that these ocean sunfishes are definitely the weirdest looking creatures of the oceans.
We continued south, enjoying an excellent view of “Volcán Ecuador,” followed by a “panga” ride at Punta Vicente Roca, that ended in a fashion that naturalists can only dream about. A pair of killer whales were feeding on a bottle-nosed dolphin and did not mind us staring at them from our dinghies, parked only yards away! Watching this took us a long while and only when the animals were done did we decide to return on board.
The show was not over with common dolphins leading us after lunch towards the island of Fernandina. Here the visit has been described as a return to a primitive Galapagos island. Punta Espinosa is really the “pearl” of the Galapagos Islands. Marine iguanas were slowly making their way towards the exposed algae of the low tide and everything that the island could offer showed up at one time or another. The endemic Fernandina snake was spotted, flightless cormorants were on their nests, hawks were flying over, lava herons fishing, the ever-present sea lions were sunbathing, and so on. Dessert came in the form of a Galapagos penguin chatting away in his donkey bray with us at the landing spot. A colorful sunset iced the daily Galapagos cake that was savored by all our nature-loving guests. For all of us this will be a day hard to forget!
Rising early for a spectacular view of the volcanic peak “Roca Redonda,” we could appreciate the numerous seabirds that call this rock their home. Flying all directions in a straight or erratic way, all were busy finding food or partners in their particular ways. Shearwaters, storm petrels, terns, boobies and tropicbirds all made their way around our ship. A phenomenal view indeed! In the distance, one could also spot a pod of common dolphins, busily feeding themselves in these cold, rich waters.
Just before crossing the Equator line, several “Mola mola” appeared off the northern coast of the island of Isabela. We really got a close look at these heavyweight, bullet-shaped, bony fishes, realizing that these ocean sunfishes are definitely the weirdest looking creatures of the oceans.
We continued south, enjoying an excellent view of “Volcán Ecuador,” followed by a “panga” ride at Punta Vicente Roca, that ended in a fashion that naturalists can only dream about. A pair of killer whales were feeding on a bottle-nosed dolphin and did not mind us staring at them from our dinghies, parked only yards away! Watching this took us a long while and only when the animals were done did we decide to return on board.
The show was not over with common dolphins leading us after lunch towards the island of Fernandina. Here the visit has been described as a return to a primitive Galapagos island. Punta Espinosa is really the “pearl” of the Galapagos Islands. Marine iguanas were slowly making their way towards the exposed algae of the low tide and everything that the island could offer showed up at one time or another. The endemic Fernandina snake was spotted, flightless cormorants were on their nests, hawks were flying over, lava herons fishing, the ever-present sea lions were sunbathing, and so on. Dessert came in the form of a Galapagos penguin chatting away in his donkey bray with us at the landing spot. A colorful sunset iced the daily Galapagos cake that was savored by all our nature-loving guests. For all of us this will be a day hard to forget!
