Isabela & Fernandina
Today we visited the youngest and most volcanically active place in Galápagos. Early in the morning we crossed the equator line and experienced a breathtaking landscape sailing along the northern part of Isabela Island, and watching the majesty of Ecuador Volcano with its caldera totally exposed: half of it is totally under the water.
Shortly afterwards we dropped anchor at Punta Vicente Roca, a beautiful mixture of volcanic materials forming a small bay with turquoise waters, here we had the opportunity for a Zodiac exploration along the coast of this site. The wildlife was everywhere: we could encounter lots of sea birds in full flight, penguins, flightless cormorants, marine iguanas sunbathing, and we were very lucky to also find a Bride’s whale and some ocean sunfish.
We came back to the ship quickly just to retrieve our snorkeling gear; we wanted to explore the marine ecosystem as well. The water in this site is full of nutrients so you never know what exactly you are going to see, many species of fish come here to feed.
Once we geared up we jumped in the water and immediately found many sea turtles close to the shore; we could stay so close to them, observing them, sharing a wonderful time in direct contact with these creatures.
After all our morning’s activities we came back on board for a well deserved lunch, and during our navigation to Fernandina Island we found a very large group of pilot whales; they gave us a spectacular show, we saw dozens of them around us!
When we finally arrived to Fernandina Island where we did a walk at Punta Espinoza, a place that seems to be totally isolated from the world; it is perhaps one of the most pristine locations on the planet. The wildlife here just continues doing their normal activities of the day even when we walk very close to them. We saw many flightless cormorants nesting, and we were delighted by the landscape full of volcanoes.
Today we visited the youngest and most volcanically active place in Galápagos. Early in the morning we crossed the equator line and experienced a breathtaking landscape sailing along the northern part of Isabela Island, and watching the majesty of Ecuador Volcano with its caldera totally exposed: half of it is totally under the water.
Shortly afterwards we dropped anchor at Punta Vicente Roca, a beautiful mixture of volcanic materials forming a small bay with turquoise waters, here we had the opportunity for a Zodiac exploration along the coast of this site. The wildlife was everywhere: we could encounter lots of sea birds in full flight, penguins, flightless cormorants, marine iguanas sunbathing, and we were very lucky to also find a Bride’s whale and some ocean sunfish.
We came back to the ship quickly just to retrieve our snorkeling gear; we wanted to explore the marine ecosystem as well. The water in this site is full of nutrients so you never know what exactly you are going to see, many species of fish come here to feed.
Once we geared up we jumped in the water and immediately found many sea turtles close to the shore; we could stay so close to them, observing them, sharing a wonderful time in direct contact with these creatures.
After all our morning’s activities we came back on board for a well deserved lunch, and during our navigation to Fernandina Island we found a very large group of pilot whales; they gave us a spectacular show, we saw dozens of them around us!
When we finally arrived to Fernandina Island where we did a walk at Punta Espinoza, a place that seems to be totally isolated from the world; it is perhaps one of the most pristine locations on the planet. The wildlife here just continues doing their normal activities of the day even when we walk very close to them. We saw many flightless cormorants nesting, and we were delighted by the landscape full of volcanoes.
