Isabela and Fernandina Islands
Since Sunday we have experienced unusual and strong winds. Big waves from the south west have made our disembarkations pretty exciting, and the shores have looked amazingly beautiful. Rough seas make us think about the power of nature, how the ocean has the strength to shape the land, to form coves and bays, to bring sand and to take it away.
Huge waves stroke Isabela basaltic shoreline, painting it with white foam, inundating the air with sounds like thunder, spreading the salt to the wind, in all directions. Off we went in our Zodiacs, to explore the largest island, to find out why the birds had concentrated over the same spot. We cruised through the gigantic swells of Punta Vicente Roca.
A big fin is spotted, and then a second black fin, and a third one. Killer whales! Orcas feeding! Indifferent to the rough seas, to us, they dove from time to time for a battle we could not see, but for sure was fought underwater. An injured sea turtle swam around, and a finless Mola mola tried to leave the area. Orcas were for sure feeding on them, and frigates, storm petrels and shearwaters came for the left overs.
It was a struggle, the sea against the land, the top predators of the ocean against the fish. It was the clouds trying to cover the sun, and it was us with mixed feelings and in the middle of a collapsed volcano on an active hotspot.
And if the morning had pure adrenaline and swells, the afternoon was exactly the opposite. It was peacefulness to the extreme. We had low tide and dozens of tidal pools were exposed, where iguanas fed, above and below water. There was quietness; even the sea lions seemed to be enjoying the silence, together with penguins and flightless cormorants.
The sea was white and flat, like a perfect mirror, where Fernandina appeared reflected in its whole grandeur and beauty.
Since Sunday we have experienced unusual and strong winds. Big waves from the south west have made our disembarkations pretty exciting, and the shores have looked amazingly beautiful. Rough seas make us think about the power of nature, how the ocean has the strength to shape the land, to form coves and bays, to bring sand and to take it away.
Huge waves stroke Isabela basaltic shoreline, painting it with white foam, inundating the air with sounds like thunder, spreading the salt to the wind, in all directions. Off we went in our Zodiacs, to explore the largest island, to find out why the birds had concentrated over the same spot. We cruised through the gigantic swells of Punta Vicente Roca.
A big fin is spotted, and then a second black fin, and a third one. Killer whales! Orcas feeding! Indifferent to the rough seas, to us, they dove from time to time for a battle we could not see, but for sure was fought underwater. An injured sea turtle swam around, and a finless Mola mola tried to leave the area. Orcas were for sure feeding on them, and frigates, storm petrels and shearwaters came for the left overs.
It was a struggle, the sea against the land, the top predators of the ocean against the fish. It was the clouds trying to cover the sun, and it was us with mixed feelings and in the middle of a collapsed volcano on an active hotspot.
And if the morning had pure adrenaline and swells, the afternoon was exactly the opposite. It was peacefulness to the extreme. We had low tide and dozens of tidal pools were exposed, where iguanas fed, above and below water. There was quietness; even the sea lions seemed to be enjoying the silence, together with penguins and flightless cormorants.
The sea was white and flat, like a perfect mirror, where Fernandina appeared reflected in its whole grandeur and beauty.
