It is our third day exploring these amazing islands. We are close to the equator now, and this morning the ocean is calm, warm, and smooth. The naturalist Fernando Sanchez has been on the bridge since 5:45 a.m. with binoculars, trying to spot any cetaceans showing up. “The early bird gets the worm,” of course, and our reward was a small school of common dolphins that came close to our ship. At the same time some sea birds such as petrels, shear waters, and albatrosses were feeding on the ocean while the sun rises slowly above the shield volcanoes that form Isabela Island. We are heading to Punta Vicente Roca, a wonderful place at the foot of Ecuador volcano, and our plan is to snorkel for up to an hour to enjoy all the creatures that you can find there in the water.
But first we are having breakfast, and then we have a very small celebration for crossing the equator on our ship.
Once we got there, about 9:00 a.m. we jumped into the water. The visibility was spectacular, and the very first animal we saw were many sun fish. Everyone was excited about them, as they are hard to find and we saw many. Suddenly a school of mobulas passed below our feet, as well as tons of marine turtles, penguins, flightless cormorants, and multicolor fish. We stayed for about two hours because there is a lot to see here, and it’s pretty hard to find a place like this one and very hard to pass it over. It was just super!
After the water activity we came back to our ship, took a shower, and went for lunch. Then we had a short siesta while our captain moved our ship to the west part of the archipelago where the youngest island is located. Fernandina Island is about 350.000 years old, and one of the most pristine islands on earth. It was formed by “La Cumbre” volcano, which is considered one of the most active volcanoes in the world and where the last eruption occurred four years ago. In the last 50 years Fernandina has erupted 14 times, and its crater has collapsed rapidly. in 1978 it was only 300 meters deep now, and now it’s about 900 meters deep. For geologists it is a great event to know how a volcano collapses and consequently, the island becomes less dramatic in topography throughout time.
As soon you put a foot on the black lava that is seen everywhere in this island you see hundreds of marine iguanas basking or warming up under the equatorial sun. The sensation of being here is very unique. it seems you are in a little Jurassic park, or you get the impression you see the beginning of life in this planet. We saw a few plants like mangroves that colonize the coast, or lava cactus acting as pioneer plants, and a completely barren lava field inland with no vegetation. We walked for about two hours in this amazing place, we found some sea lions and their babies, cormorants, and many tide pools where crabs and turtles were feeding. We saw a snake ready to hunt some baby marine iguanas, a few lava lizards finding insects to eat, and finally, as a good example of adaption, a big red male Sally lightfoot crab presenting a very unusual behavior of cannibalism, by eating a juvenile member of its same species. We are very pleased to have such a tremendous day that is so unique and full of surprises.
