This morning we rounded the northeastern point of Isabela, cruising past the dramatic slopes of Volcan Ecuador under bright sunny skies. Bottle-nosed dolphins were spotted slicing gracefully through the waves around our bow while rare endemic seabirds like Dark-rumped Petrels and Galapagos Storm-Petrels winged by, flying low over the deep blue waters. Just as we passed Punta Vicente Roca, Monique spotted a strangely shaped fin emerging from the water ahead of the ship and cried out "Mola Mola! Right over there, its an Ocean Sunfish!" This remarkable fish, related to pufferfish but resembling nothing else in the sea, is the largest of all bony fishes. Individuals have been recorded over 4000 pounds and 10 feet in diameter! Though it lives in deep waters, it is often seen at the surface basking in the warmth of the sun, whose energy aids its digestion.

A few minutes later the Polaris paused so that we could lower our Zodiacs for a cruise along the lava and tuff cliffs of the volcano. Knowing that there were Mola Mola in the area, I decided to take our new underwater video camera and my snorkeling gear along, just in case (though I thought there was really very little chance of encountering one of these rare fish from the Zodiac). But we had only been out for a few minutes when we once again saw the tell-tale fin just above the waves. I geared up in a matter of seconds and slipped into the water, right beside a five-foot long fish with a fin span of over eight feet! I was able to swim with it for about ten minutes, filming all the while and marveling at its lazy, languid motion - which propelled it through the water as fast as I could possibly swim.

We finished the morning with a wonderful cruise, observing details of volcanic geology, watching marine iguanas compete for territories and photographing delicately beautiful Brown Noddy terns on their nesting ledges. Later in the evening I showed the video I had taken of the Mola Mola in the lounge, sharing the underwater perspective of this incredible animal with everyone on board. It was truly and exceptional day, even in the naturalist's paradise of the Galapagos.

P.S. In this view you can see one of the Zodiacs in the upper left corner, which gives you an idea of the size of this huge fish. Tune in next week for a close up.