Roca Redonda, Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela Island, Punta Espinosa on Fernandina Islands
We woke up very early in the morning to see the rising sun over the mountains of Isabela Island, hoping to see any kind of cetaceans during our navigation to Roca Redonda. The prevailing winds have brought a very dense fog, thus shading the rock with a thrilling touch, a characteristic that gave them the name of Enchanted or Bewitched Islands (Encantadas).
From the distance, the rock appeared barren and uninhabited; the Captain took us as close as possible so that we could see this little piece of land in the middle of the ocean that was trimming with life. Galápagos shearwaters, swallow-tailed gulls, nazca boobies, and red-billed tropicbirds were among the hundreds of sea birds flying back and forth in an almost endless choreograph that delighted our eyes souls and spirits.
The Captain set sail towards Punta Vicente Roca, and after a few seconds, the very well trained eyes of Naturalist Gabriel Salazar spotted a whale in the distance. The mist from the blow faded away with the wind, and everyone on the decks carefully watched for the animal to come up for air a second time. “There she blows,” but it was more than one, probably two or three, more or less two thirds of a mile between each other. Bryde’s whales are very common to these areas almost all year round.
The sun was shining, heating the volcanic rocks forcing the marine iguanas, sea lions, penguins, and other animals to leave them and go into the water for a little refreshment. We joined them after our panga ride along the shore line so we could swim with very tame black sea turtles and be able to watch them grazing on sea weed together with a marine iguana, until a playful sea lion made fun of us, swimming in front of our masks at an incredible speed.
At Punta Espinoza on Fernandina Island, the marine iguanas have been taking advantage of the low tide to go feeding on a green algae that grows at a very fast rate on the basaltic rocks bathed by the cold waters of the nutrient-rich Cronwell current, coming back ashore to soak up the heat from the lavas in order to regulate their body temperatures. Some males are displaying a bright combination of black, red, and green colors, meaning that the mating season is about to start for this endemic reptiles.
As an indicative that the water is very productive, cormorants are nesting for the second time in the year. While some are finishing their breeding cycle, others are just starting it; we saw one bringing sea weeds back to the nest, and a pair of little hatchlings under the protective body of their parent.
I was surprised by the strong calls of a pair of American Oyster-catchers, walking behind us completely unaware and fearless to our presence. One walked in front of us like if posing for the picture, a behavior which was not observed ten or fifteen years ago. This is proof about the respect that human beings show when coming to enjoy the wonders of this unique paradise named the Galápagos Archipelago.
We woke up very early in the morning to see the rising sun over the mountains of Isabela Island, hoping to see any kind of cetaceans during our navigation to Roca Redonda. The prevailing winds have brought a very dense fog, thus shading the rock with a thrilling touch, a characteristic that gave them the name of Enchanted or Bewitched Islands (Encantadas).
From the distance, the rock appeared barren and uninhabited; the Captain took us as close as possible so that we could see this little piece of land in the middle of the ocean that was trimming with life. Galápagos shearwaters, swallow-tailed gulls, nazca boobies, and red-billed tropicbirds were among the hundreds of sea birds flying back and forth in an almost endless choreograph that delighted our eyes souls and spirits.
The Captain set sail towards Punta Vicente Roca, and after a few seconds, the very well trained eyes of Naturalist Gabriel Salazar spotted a whale in the distance. The mist from the blow faded away with the wind, and everyone on the decks carefully watched for the animal to come up for air a second time. “There she blows,” but it was more than one, probably two or three, more or less two thirds of a mile between each other. Bryde’s whales are very common to these areas almost all year round.
The sun was shining, heating the volcanic rocks forcing the marine iguanas, sea lions, penguins, and other animals to leave them and go into the water for a little refreshment. We joined them after our panga ride along the shore line so we could swim with very tame black sea turtles and be able to watch them grazing on sea weed together with a marine iguana, until a playful sea lion made fun of us, swimming in front of our masks at an incredible speed.
At Punta Espinoza on Fernandina Island, the marine iguanas have been taking advantage of the low tide to go feeding on a green algae that grows at a very fast rate on the basaltic rocks bathed by the cold waters of the nutrient-rich Cronwell current, coming back ashore to soak up the heat from the lavas in order to regulate their body temperatures. Some males are displaying a bright combination of black, red, and green colors, meaning that the mating season is about to start for this endemic reptiles.
As an indicative that the water is very productive, cormorants are nesting for the second time in the year. While some are finishing their breeding cycle, others are just starting it; we saw one bringing sea weeds back to the nest, and a pair of little hatchlings under the protective body of their parent.
I was surprised by the strong calls of a pair of American Oyster-catchers, walking behind us completely unaware and fearless to our presence. One walked in front of us like if posing for the picture, a behavior which was not observed ten or fifteen years ago. This is proof about the respect that human beings show when coming to enjoy the wonders of this unique paradise named the Galápagos Archipelago.
