Isabela & Fernandina Islands
The foggy, damp air added mystery to our awakening this morning. Perhaps Herman Melville saw the rock in this same fashion, when he penned his chapter on Roca Redonda within his novel Enchanted Islands. We are here in the islands in the month of May, known as a “transition month” when the balance of power is starting to change. The Humboldt Current is beginning to overpower the weakening Panama Current. The result is warm air, cool water creating an inversion layer close to the surface of the sea.
Shearwaters, storm petrels, boobies, frigates, fur seals and sea lions all call the rock home. The turbulence on the sea surface was such that we could hear the chorus of waves from the bow of the Polaris as we circumnavigated a few times around.
Many, many “pollywogs” were converted into “shellbacks” after breakfast as we crossed the equator line and tooted the horn. This brought King Neptune on deck where octopus was on the menu along with “iguana blood” to wash it down. All under the fishy eyes of King Neptune, making sure his new subjects toed the line.
Our Zodiac ride along Pta. Vicente Roca brought into focus the presence of fur seals once again as we encountered three playmates battling for “King of the Hill” while huge surf rolled around them, accentuating their ears, which stick out at right-angles, unlike the ears of our Galápagos sea lions which lie flat along their heads.
Penguins, marine turtles, flightless cormorants, noddy terns, boobies, everyone was out, and shutters clicked furiously from cameras. A real photo moment occurred when a young marine iguana of perhaps one or two years of age, climbed from the sea onto a Zodiac, using the mesh weave around the bow for traction. We could only speculate that while swimming across the cave entrance (why did the iguana cross the water?) it met with the black wall of a Zodiac instead of the far wall it expected. The line woven into a mesh around the bow provided the traction needed, and once on board it got the added benefit from the warm rubber (that must have felt good!).
The afternoon on Fernandina Island gave virtually perfect light to our photographers. The flightless cormorants are nesting, the iguanas are piled up, and the Sally Lightfoot crabs shone in the lowering light of late afternoon, while two Galápagos hawks perched impassively from the mangrove treetop. Waiting for marine iguana hatchlings? We don’t know for sure, but can guess, as it will soon be hatching season.
After dinner we were happy to see a photo gallery of everyone’s six best shots up to now – with constructive thoughts and great compliments from our photographic experts. The best part? We still have half the expedition to go!
The foggy, damp air added mystery to our awakening this morning. Perhaps Herman Melville saw the rock in this same fashion, when he penned his chapter on Roca Redonda within his novel Enchanted Islands. We are here in the islands in the month of May, known as a “transition month” when the balance of power is starting to change. The Humboldt Current is beginning to overpower the weakening Panama Current. The result is warm air, cool water creating an inversion layer close to the surface of the sea.
Shearwaters, storm petrels, boobies, frigates, fur seals and sea lions all call the rock home. The turbulence on the sea surface was such that we could hear the chorus of waves from the bow of the Polaris as we circumnavigated a few times around.
Many, many “pollywogs” were converted into “shellbacks” after breakfast as we crossed the equator line and tooted the horn. This brought King Neptune on deck where octopus was on the menu along with “iguana blood” to wash it down. All under the fishy eyes of King Neptune, making sure his new subjects toed the line.
Our Zodiac ride along Pta. Vicente Roca brought into focus the presence of fur seals once again as we encountered three playmates battling for “King of the Hill” while huge surf rolled around them, accentuating their ears, which stick out at right-angles, unlike the ears of our Galápagos sea lions which lie flat along their heads.
Penguins, marine turtles, flightless cormorants, noddy terns, boobies, everyone was out, and shutters clicked furiously from cameras. A real photo moment occurred when a young marine iguana of perhaps one or two years of age, climbed from the sea onto a Zodiac, using the mesh weave around the bow for traction. We could only speculate that while swimming across the cave entrance (why did the iguana cross the water?) it met with the black wall of a Zodiac instead of the far wall it expected. The line woven into a mesh around the bow provided the traction needed, and once on board it got the added benefit from the warm rubber (that must have felt good!).
The afternoon on Fernandina Island gave virtually perfect light to our photographers. The flightless cormorants are nesting, the iguanas are piled up, and the Sally Lightfoot crabs shone in the lowering light of late afternoon, while two Galápagos hawks perched impassively from the mangrove treetop. Waiting for marine iguana hatchlings? We don’t know for sure, but can guess, as it will soon be hatching season.
After dinner we were happy to see a photo gallery of everyone’s six best shots up to now – with constructive thoughts and great compliments from our photographic experts. The best part? We still have half the expedition to go!
