When the announcement of the wake up call went through the ship's P.A. system this morning, nobody knew what a terrific day was just about to begin. Our very first sight was a wonderful view of Roca Redonda or "round rock." This magical place, full of seabirds, provided us with a very interesting perspective of Galapagos geology. Several hundred common dolphins accompanied us as we navigated. They showed up just in time to lead the way south and take us, later in the morning, with the permission of the King Neptune, to cross the Ecuator line.

A Zodiac ride along the coast of Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela Island surprised and delighted us with all kinds of animal life. Boobies, sea lions, iguanas and penguins were among some of the sightings on land, while turtles, manta rays and sunfishes were among the sea creatures. But Punta Vicente Roca was too exiting to leave, so we decided to try a spontaneous snorkel outing. For even the naturalists it turned out to be one of the most interesting snorkeling trips ever! We encountered more than two dozen lazily swimming sea turtles and we had the very rare opportunity to swim with one of the most bizarre looking fish in the world, mola mola, the pelagic sunfish.

Our afternoon visit to Punta Espinosa, on Fernandina Island was as beautiful as it always is. This island is home to hundreds of marine iguanas, Lava lizards, sea lions, cormorants and penguins. Only native species live here; man has never inhabited the island. It is always encouraging to walk on this pristine land, where no species introduced by man have established, and to dream of how beautiful the world could be with more places as peaceful as the Galapagos.