Isabela and Fernandina Islands
The next leg of our expedition through the mysterious Galápagos Archipelago took us to the western sector, an area I personally feel deserves the name “the jewel of the Galapagos.” One cannot rightly claim to have visited the islands without having been here, Fernandina in particular. These islands are distinctly wierd and wonderful and give an idea as to how it all began. As Charles Darwin would say, “Hence, both in space and time, we are drawn closer to that great fact, that mystery of mysteries, the first appearance of new beings on this Earth.”
Oceanic islands such as the Galápagos are notable repositories of unusual plants and creatures as well as strange, unbalanced ecosystems due to the near-insurmountable difficulties of arrival and establishment that colonizing these isolated pieces of land entails. During the first few days of our trip, we have encountered the only sea-going lizard in the world (the marine iguana) of which the largest and most numerous individuals populate the western coastlines; several example of gigantism both in plants (the giant cacti and daisies) and reptiles (the tortoises, namesake of the island group); unbelievable tameness amongst animals evolved in the absence of significant predation and today, at last, we came across yet another common feature of islands: flightless birds – the famous Galápagos flightless cormorant.
We awoke bright and early to enjoy sunrise over the towering shield volcanoes of Isabela and Fernandina, and later on those crossing the equator line for the first time at sea tasted the wrath of King Neptune and his pirates to enable us to continue with our adventure. We explored the rich coastlines in a variety of ways that included Zodiac rides, kayaks, snorkelling and hiking, marvelling incessantly at the abundance of wildlife that can inhabit such seemingly inhospitable areas. Of particular note were the hundreds of blue-footed boobies that congregated along the shores in a well-earned respite from their energy consuming fishing techniques – their startlingly blue feet underscored against the stark, black basaltic lava.
Many new memories to store and take home…
The next leg of our expedition through the mysterious Galápagos Archipelago took us to the western sector, an area I personally feel deserves the name “the jewel of the Galapagos.” One cannot rightly claim to have visited the islands without having been here, Fernandina in particular. These islands are distinctly wierd and wonderful and give an idea as to how it all began. As Charles Darwin would say, “Hence, both in space and time, we are drawn closer to that great fact, that mystery of mysteries, the first appearance of new beings on this Earth.”
Oceanic islands such as the Galápagos are notable repositories of unusual plants and creatures as well as strange, unbalanced ecosystems due to the near-insurmountable difficulties of arrival and establishment that colonizing these isolated pieces of land entails. During the first few days of our trip, we have encountered the only sea-going lizard in the world (the marine iguana) of which the largest and most numerous individuals populate the western coastlines; several example of gigantism both in plants (the giant cacti and daisies) and reptiles (the tortoises, namesake of the island group); unbelievable tameness amongst animals evolved in the absence of significant predation and today, at last, we came across yet another common feature of islands: flightless birds – the famous Galápagos flightless cormorant.
We awoke bright and early to enjoy sunrise over the towering shield volcanoes of Isabela and Fernandina, and later on those crossing the equator line for the first time at sea tasted the wrath of King Neptune and his pirates to enable us to continue with our adventure. We explored the rich coastlines in a variety of ways that included Zodiac rides, kayaks, snorkelling and hiking, marvelling incessantly at the abundance of wildlife that can inhabit such seemingly inhospitable areas. Of particular note were the hundreds of blue-footed boobies that congregated along the shores in a well-earned respite from their energy consuming fishing techniques – their startlingly blue feet underscored against the stark, black basaltic lava.
Many new memories to store and take home…
