Isabela and Fernandina Islands
We have entered the westernmost realm of the Galápagos Archipelago. Here we are “on top” of the Galápagos hot spot, and we spent a day surrounded by spectacular shield volcanoes.
After breakfast, we got close to Ecuador volcano, right on the equator line, and we saw its inside from the ship itself. Not only was the geology fascinating, but the wildlife even more so. The cool waters of Cromwell counter-current hit the Galápagos submarine platform up-welling in this area, filling the whole region with nutrients that support an amazingly rich marine and coastal ecosystem. It is here that one finds the largest population of penguins, flightless cormorants, the largest and most numerous marine iguanas and great amounts of sea turtles. During the Zodiac ride in the morning, a pod of bottlenose dolphins surprised us; they surfaced many times right off the Zodiacs.
In the afternoon, we walked on a very young lava flow not older than 200 years, and we admired the interesting features of the lava, both pahoe-hoe and aa flows.
Another exciting day in these enchanted islands.
We have entered the westernmost realm of the Galápagos Archipelago. Here we are “on top” of the Galápagos hot spot, and we spent a day surrounded by spectacular shield volcanoes.
After breakfast, we got close to Ecuador volcano, right on the equator line, and we saw its inside from the ship itself. Not only was the geology fascinating, but the wildlife even more so. The cool waters of Cromwell counter-current hit the Galápagos submarine platform up-welling in this area, filling the whole region with nutrients that support an amazingly rich marine and coastal ecosystem. It is here that one finds the largest population of penguins, flightless cormorants, the largest and most numerous marine iguanas and great amounts of sea turtles. During the Zodiac ride in the morning, a pod of bottlenose dolphins surprised us; they surfaced many times right off the Zodiacs.
In the afternoon, we walked on a very young lava flow not older than 200 years, and we admired the interesting features of the lava, both pahoe-hoe and aa flows.
Another exciting day in these enchanted islands.
