Northern Isabela & Fernandina Islands
This morning we found gray skies and wet garua mist when we awoke. The visibility was at first poor-- so I made no wake–up call-- and there was little chance of spotting marine mammals. By 7:00 a.m. however, the garua had burned off and we had great visibility, wonderfully calm seas and every thing in our favor for observing either dolphins or whales: but they did not show! We descended to breakfast still glad to have enjoyed the beautiful morning, the fresh sea air and the sight of many different species of sea birds.
The equator line was easier to find than marine mammals this morning, so we gathered in the bridge, counted down as the GPS turned all zeros and tooted the ship’s whistle as we returned to the southern hemisphere. As we navigated along beside the half caldera named Volcan Ecuador, Ernesto gave us a kayak safety briefing on the bow and we learned how to adjust the rudder pedals in anticipation of kayak outings on the last two days of this expedition.
We boarded the Zodiacs as soon as the ship was anchored at Punta Vicente Roca and had a marvelous panga ride along the coast. We enjoyed observing penguins and cormorants both in and out of the water, many sea turtles, plunge diving boobies and iguanas and noddy terns on the rocky shelves along the coast. The tide was low and as the waves dropped below the high tide line sponges, coralline algae, anemones, sea fans and other intertidal organisms of purple, red, orange and brown hues were visible. The highlight of the outing was a large and fearless Mola mola – a pelagic sunfish at least six feet across – spotted first by guest Carol Benoist. All four of our Zodiacs eventual came over to spend some time with this amazing fish; Daniel and a few lucky guests even got to snorkel beside it!
Lunch had just started when Ernesto spotted a large pod of several hundred common dolphins. We followed them with the ship for a while and watched them leap and surf ahead of us. At 3:30 p.m. we disembarked on the lava at Punta Espinoza for a walk. We took our time, stopped to observe and had a fabulous afternoon among countless marine iguanas, nesting cormorants, many dark lava lizards and bright red Sally Lightfoot crabs. Some of us spied a Galápagos hawk, we found a dead cormorant being eaten by crabs, we spotted a small endemic snake and were surprised when two crabs we thought were preparing to fight instead mated! Yet another interesting and entertaining day in Galápagos.
This morning we found gray skies and wet garua mist when we awoke. The visibility was at first poor-- so I made no wake–up call-- and there was little chance of spotting marine mammals. By 7:00 a.m. however, the garua had burned off and we had great visibility, wonderfully calm seas and every thing in our favor for observing either dolphins or whales: but they did not show! We descended to breakfast still glad to have enjoyed the beautiful morning, the fresh sea air and the sight of many different species of sea birds.
The equator line was easier to find than marine mammals this morning, so we gathered in the bridge, counted down as the GPS turned all zeros and tooted the ship’s whistle as we returned to the southern hemisphere. As we navigated along beside the half caldera named Volcan Ecuador, Ernesto gave us a kayak safety briefing on the bow and we learned how to adjust the rudder pedals in anticipation of kayak outings on the last two days of this expedition.
We boarded the Zodiacs as soon as the ship was anchored at Punta Vicente Roca and had a marvelous panga ride along the coast. We enjoyed observing penguins and cormorants both in and out of the water, many sea turtles, plunge diving boobies and iguanas and noddy terns on the rocky shelves along the coast. The tide was low and as the waves dropped below the high tide line sponges, coralline algae, anemones, sea fans and other intertidal organisms of purple, red, orange and brown hues were visible. The highlight of the outing was a large and fearless Mola mola – a pelagic sunfish at least six feet across – spotted first by guest Carol Benoist. All four of our Zodiacs eventual came over to spend some time with this amazing fish; Daniel and a few lucky guests even got to snorkel beside it!
Lunch had just started when Ernesto spotted a large pod of several hundred common dolphins. We followed them with the ship for a while and watched them leap and surf ahead of us. At 3:30 p.m. we disembarked on the lava at Punta Espinoza for a walk. We took our time, stopped to observe and had a fabulous afternoon among countless marine iguanas, nesting cormorants, many dark lava lizards and bright red Sally Lightfoot crabs. Some of us spied a Galápagos hawk, we found a dead cormorant being eaten by crabs, we spotted a small endemic snake and were surprised when two crabs we thought were preparing to fight instead mated! Yet another interesting and entertaining day in Galápagos.
