Isabela and Fernandina Islands
There are always special moments in life, perhaps minutes such as these, when we are amazed by a glorious sunset like this one. The only thing we are sure about is that here we are privileged to see and live what we have in front of our eyes in such a short time and in an incredible paradise.
We traveled today to the western part of the archipelago, and spent our day there. While enjoying a calm navigation we encountered sea turtles, sea lions, Nazca boobies, and storm petrels. Later we went on a Zodiac cruise where the geology of this magical place brought to us the primitiveness of the islands. The greatest moment came when we came across a Bryde’s Whale; such an impressive creature made us feel so humble as we almost felt its breathe in our faces.
Some other surprises came along on this very same ride: we found a manta ray, several sun fish, and the first arrivals this year of some shore birds like wandering tattlers and semi-palmated plovers, among others. These far-travelling birds made their presence clear on arrival with very loud calls.
Our navigation took us to the jewel in the crown of the National Park, the island of Fernandina (named after the King Fernando from Spain). On the way we encountered a school of what must have been 500 common dolphin, performing acrobatics all around us, to the delight of all. We started off our afternoon outing with a very refreshing snorkeling outing during which we were surrounded by sea turtles and tropical fish. The towering volcano of Fernandina with its fresh lava flows was a wonderful and exciting place to visit. Our walk took us to a nursery of sea lions (currently breeding), and a couple of young Galapagos hawks that were learning and improving their hunting skills.
It was such a great day, and what a beautiful sunset we had!
There are always special moments in life, perhaps minutes such as these, when we are amazed by a glorious sunset like this one. The only thing we are sure about is that here we are privileged to see and live what we have in front of our eyes in such a short time and in an incredible paradise.
We traveled today to the western part of the archipelago, and spent our day there. While enjoying a calm navigation we encountered sea turtles, sea lions, Nazca boobies, and storm petrels. Later we went on a Zodiac cruise where the geology of this magical place brought to us the primitiveness of the islands. The greatest moment came when we came across a Bryde’s Whale; such an impressive creature made us feel so humble as we almost felt its breathe in our faces.
Some other surprises came along on this very same ride: we found a manta ray, several sun fish, and the first arrivals this year of some shore birds like wandering tattlers and semi-palmated plovers, among others. These far-travelling birds made their presence clear on arrival with very loud calls.
Our navigation took us to the jewel in the crown of the National Park, the island of Fernandina (named after the King Fernando from Spain). On the way we encountered a school of what must have been 500 common dolphin, performing acrobatics all around us, to the delight of all. We started off our afternoon outing with a very refreshing snorkeling outing during which we were surrounded by sea turtles and tropical fish. The towering volcano of Fernandina with its fresh lava flows was a wonderful and exciting place to visit. Our walk took us to a nursery of sea lions (currently breeding), and a couple of young Galapagos hawks that were learning and improving their hunting skills.
It was such a great day, and what a beautiful sunset we had!
