Isabela and Fernandina
The beginning of our day was superb! King Neptune, his wife Nereida and two rowdy pirates came to visit us, and many on board were baptized following the traditions of a sea crossing of the Equator. We enjoyed the ceremony and were confident that good luck would follow. Did it ever!
We had just sat down to a good breakfast, when Expedition Leader Lynn announced that we had located and approached a pod of short-finned pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins. These gentle creatures stayed close to our ship for so long that we were able to lower a Zodiac and send two of our naturalists out to take some underwater video footage.
The next outing was a Zodiac ride along the cliffs of Punta Vicente Roca on the Northwestern side of Isabela. Among many interesting sightings of huge marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, and Galapagos fur seals, we found mola mola, the pelagic sunfish. Naturalist Rafael was able to film this huge fish, which was so unafraid and friendly that it almost seemed to be waiting to be photographed with the underwater camera. Most of us were only able to see the sunfish’s long dorsal fin coming out of the water which makes its identification so easy. But in the evening recap, when Rafael showed us his footage, we could appreciate the beauty of this unique fish.
As we continued our morning “panga ride,” we had one more beautiful surprise. We spyed two Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera edeni) and were able to ride along beside them for over half an hour. The joy and excitement of this moment was immense, and it was especially thrilling to see all the younger explorers that we have on board this week having such fun while learning so much about these enchanted islands.
The beginning of our day was superb! King Neptune, his wife Nereida and two rowdy pirates came to visit us, and many on board were baptized following the traditions of a sea crossing of the Equator. We enjoyed the ceremony and were confident that good luck would follow. Did it ever!
We had just sat down to a good breakfast, when Expedition Leader Lynn announced that we had located and approached a pod of short-finned pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins. These gentle creatures stayed close to our ship for so long that we were able to lower a Zodiac and send two of our naturalists out to take some underwater video footage.
The next outing was a Zodiac ride along the cliffs of Punta Vicente Roca on the Northwestern side of Isabela. Among many interesting sightings of huge marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, and Galapagos fur seals, we found mola mola, the pelagic sunfish. Naturalist Rafael was able to film this huge fish, which was so unafraid and friendly that it almost seemed to be waiting to be photographed with the underwater camera. Most of us were only able to see the sunfish’s long dorsal fin coming out of the water which makes its identification so easy. But in the evening recap, when Rafael showed us his footage, we could appreciate the beauty of this unique fish.
As we continued our morning “panga ride,” we had one more beautiful surprise. We spyed two Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera edeni) and were able to ride along beside them for over half an hour. The joy and excitement of this moment was immense, and it was especially thrilling to see all the younger explorers that we have on board this week having such fun while learning so much about these enchanted islands.
