San Cristobal and Española are some of the oldest of the Galapagos Islands, as they sit on the southeastern end of the archipelago. The islands are of volcanic origin and formed due to the activity of what geologists call a “hotspot.” As the Nazca Plate slid to the southeast over the hotspot, new islands emerged. This means that the islands toward the northwest are the youngest, and the ones on the opposite end are the oldest.
9/14/2022
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National Geographic Islander II
Isabela & Fernandina Islands: Vicente Roca Point & Espinoza Point
The misty weather of the dry season covered the sky as our first activities started in the early morning. From the deck, we looked for marine mammals and enjoyed the magnificent volcanic landscape of the northern side of Isabela. We explored Vicente Roca in our Zodiacs as we traveled along the walls. Wildlife is very abundant on this site since the area is an upwelling zone. Marine birds and reptiles were the highlights of the morning. Blue-footed boobies, brown noddy terns, pelicans, Nazca boobies, marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, and penguins made our morning special. We then went snorkeling in the same area, an incredible site for sea turtles. In the afternoon, we visited Fernandina, the youngest island. The site is a nesting place for marine iguanas. Here they congregate in big numbers, so they were the stars of the afternoon. We hiked around an uplifted basaltic lava flow, and we spotted flightless cormorants, sea lions, and a beautiful Galapagos hawk. This site offers a view of La Cumbre, the huge volcano on the island. We could also see the volcanoes that form Isabela Island right across the channel. We were lucky to witness activity in one of the volcanoes today!
