Punta Vicente Roca, Isabela Island & Punta Espinosa, Fernandina Island
The sun was making its way through the clouds that covered the northern tip of Isabela Island as we were circumnavigating “Roca Redonda” (rounded rock). This is the remnant of a cinder cone which has been highly eroded by the waves.
The Cromwell current, which is found way deep in the ocean, hits the western most walls of both islands, Isabela & Fernandina. This effect causes it to up wells, bringing to the surface all those minerals that had been dragged quite a few miles from the bottom of the ocean. Such minerals help algae to grow, which are the principal food supply for animal plankton. All this process generates a food web for many sea animals such us sea lions, fur seals, sea birds, dolphins and even whales.
As the good ship Polaris continued her way around this formation, birds were spotted at either flying or simply sitting on the ocean. It was also nice to observe the “following technique” that some sea birds use to reduce the dragging effect of the wind, and as a result, saving a great deal of energy. Just as we were turning to leave behind the formation, a small pod of bottle nose dolphins was sighted by our Expedition Leader, Lucho.
During our breakfast, we could see how Roca Redonda was left behind, but our next destination, Punta Vicente Roca, was getting closer and closer. It was a perfectly calm ocean until a pod of striped dolphins, Stenella coeruleoalba, appeared at the distance. These beautiful slender-body dolphins are gregarious; they are commonly found in aggregations numbering a few dozens (like here in the Galápagos) and sometimes in herds of several thousands like off the coast of Japan.
After such an exciting encounter, we dropped anchor at Punta Vicente Roca. Here we learned about the geology of the Islands and the different types of volcanic materials found in this area. From the distance, the surrounding cliffs look completely barren, but as we got closer with the panga, the richness in wildlife was revealed. There was much more than what we were expecting to encounter. Penguins, flightless cormorants, blue footed Boobies, marine iguanas, brown noddy terns, sea turtles, and even the odd-looking ocean sunfish (better known as Mola mola) were found in the nearby shores.
For the afternoon, a group of eager guests went for a snorkeling outing to find the promised penguins, cormorants and sea turtles. They were not let down, as they found even much more than that!
The afternoon was spent at Punta Espinosa. Lots of marine iguanas were displaying their mating colors and quite a few of them were found being aggressive towards one another, mainly because they were defending their little piece of land. We also could distinguish the two different types of lava flows that occur in the islands, aa (sharp-block) and pahoehoe (ropy).
We are very fortunate to be in such a special place like this, and one feels here as if being on the moon. But the best of all, it can make us imagine how the beginning of life could have been…
The sun was making its way through the clouds that covered the northern tip of Isabela Island as we were circumnavigating “Roca Redonda” (rounded rock). This is the remnant of a cinder cone which has been highly eroded by the waves.
The Cromwell current, which is found way deep in the ocean, hits the western most walls of both islands, Isabela & Fernandina. This effect causes it to up wells, bringing to the surface all those minerals that had been dragged quite a few miles from the bottom of the ocean. Such minerals help algae to grow, which are the principal food supply for animal plankton. All this process generates a food web for many sea animals such us sea lions, fur seals, sea birds, dolphins and even whales.
As the good ship Polaris continued her way around this formation, birds were spotted at either flying or simply sitting on the ocean. It was also nice to observe the “following technique” that some sea birds use to reduce the dragging effect of the wind, and as a result, saving a great deal of energy. Just as we were turning to leave behind the formation, a small pod of bottle nose dolphins was sighted by our Expedition Leader, Lucho.
During our breakfast, we could see how Roca Redonda was left behind, but our next destination, Punta Vicente Roca, was getting closer and closer. It was a perfectly calm ocean until a pod of striped dolphins, Stenella coeruleoalba, appeared at the distance. These beautiful slender-body dolphins are gregarious; they are commonly found in aggregations numbering a few dozens (like here in the Galápagos) and sometimes in herds of several thousands like off the coast of Japan.
After such an exciting encounter, we dropped anchor at Punta Vicente Roca. Here we learned about the geology of the Islands and the different types of volcanic materials found in this area. From the distance, the surrounding cliffs look completely barren, but as we got closer with the panga, the richness in wildlife was revealed. There was much more than what we were expecting to encounter. Penguins, flightless cormorants, blue footed Boobies, marine iguanas, brown noddy terns, sea turtles, and even the odd-looking ocean sunfish (better known as Mola mola) were found in the nearby shores.
For the afternoon, a group of eager guests went for a snorkeling outing to find the promised penguins, cormorants and sea turtles. They were not let down, as they found even much more than that!
The afternoon was spent at Punta Espinosa. Lots of marine iguanas were displaying their mating colors and quite a few of them were found being aggressive towards one another, mainly because they were defending their little piece of land. We also could distinguish the two different types of lava flows that occur in the islands, aa (sharp-block) and pahoehoe (ropy).
We are very fortunate to be in such a special place like this, and one feels here as if being on the moon. But the best of all, it can make us imagine how the beginning of life could have been…
