Isabela & Fernandina Islands
We started off this morning with a circumnavigation of Roca Redonda, a rocky outcrop that is all that remains of a huge underwater volcano that breached the surface of the water. As our captain brought us around the rock and we were admiring the seabirds that inhabit it, we suddenly spotted some bottlenose dolphins feeding in the area. We then set our course towards Punta Vicente Roca, Northern Isabela Island, when we had a second great sighting: countless common dolphins surrounded the ship, regaling us with acrobatic displays.
Overnight we crossed that great landmark, the equator line, for the first time in the early hours of the morning. Although many were tempted to wake up then to witness the event, we were placated by the knowledge that we were to do it again later in the morning! This time we did not get off lightly and we had a special visit aboard: King Neptune boarded with his phantom pirates from the deep to baptize some of our guests crossing the line aboard the ship as “shellbacks”.
Later on, we anchored ship in an area called Punta Vicente Roca, and started our morning exploration with a Zodiac ride along a spectacular coastline that had a lot more in store for us than just fascinating geology and impressive scenery: we saw the two species of flightless birds that are endemic to the Galápagos Islands and found mainly in the most western side of the archipelago, the flightless cormorant and the Galápagos penguin. We were then surprised by absolutely outstanding sightings of the ocean sunfish, better known by its Latin name: Mola mola, swimming side by side with our Zodiacs and actually coming out of the water and eyeballing us!
On returning to the ship, we quickly got changed and returned to the area for some snorkeling, which was a wonderful opportunity to swim with graceful green sea turtles and many tropical fish, including a species rare in the rest of the archipelago: the colorful harlequin wrasse. On our way back towards the Polaris we witnessed an impressive event right in front of our eyes: erosion at work as part of the cliffs of tuff, meaning compacted volcanic ash, came crashing down to the water below, raising a massive cloud of dust that was blown upwards by the wind, eventually vanishing in the distance.
Over lunch, we repositioned the ship to the beautiful island of Fernandina. This is the most pristine island in the Galápagos, because nothing has ever been introduced here and everything is completely natural. Here we can find the largest and most numerous marine iguanas in the archipelago, and we cannot but be fascinated by such incredible-looking creatures that have completely re-invented a way of life since they colonized this inhospitable place so many years ago. I often try to imagine the first impressions of Fray Thomas de Berlanga, the Spanish bishop who first discovered the islands in 1535, and feel I come closer to understanding it by watching the reaction of our own guests this afternoon.
We started off this morning with a circumnavigation of Roca Redonda, a rocky outcrop that is all that remains of a huge underwater volcano that breached the surface of the water. As our captain brought us around the rock and we were admiring the seabirds that inhabit it, we suddenly spotted some bottlenose dolphins feeding in the area. We then set our course towards Punta Vicente Roca, Northern Isabela Island, when we had a second great sighting: countless common dolphins surrounded the ship, regaling us with acrobatic displays.
Overnight we crossed that great landmark, the equator line, for the first time in the early hours of the morning. Although many were tempted to wake up then to witness the event, we were placated by the knowledge that we were to do it again later in the morning! This time we did not get off lightly and we had a special visit aboard: King Neptune boarded with his phantom pirates from the deep to baptize some of our guests crossing the line aboard the ship as “shellbacks”.
Later on, we anchored ship in an area called Punta Vicente Roca, and started our morning exploration with a Zodiac ride along a spectacular coastline that had a lot more in store for us than just fascinating geology and impressive scenery: we saw the two species of flightless birds that are endemic to the Galápagos Islands and found mainly in the most western side of the archipelago, the flightless cormorant and the Galápagos penguin. We were then surprised by absolutely outstanding sightings of the ocean sunfish, better known by its Latin name: Mola mola, swimming side by side with our Zodiacs and actually coming out of the water and eyeballing us!
On returning to the ship, we quickly got changed and returned to the area for some snorkeling, which was a wonderful opportunity to swim with graceful green sea turtles and many tropical fish, including a species rare in the rest of the archipelago: the colorful harlequin wrasse. On our way back towards the Polaris we witnessed an impressive event right in front of our eyes: erosion at work as part of the cliffs of tuff, meaning compacted volcanic ash, came crashing down to the water below, raising a massive cloud of dust that was blown upwards by the wind, eventually vanishing in the distance.
Over lunch, we repositioned the ship to the beautiful island of Fernandina. This is the most pristine island in the Galápagos, because nothing has ever been introduced here and everything is completely natural. Here we can find the largest and most numerous marine iguanas in the archipelago, and we cannot but be fascinated by such incredible-looking creatures that have completely re-invented a way of life since they colonized this inhospitable place so many years ago. I often try to imagine the first impressions of Fray Thomas de Berlanga, the Spanish bishop who first discovered the islands in 1535, and feel I come closer to understanding it by watching the reaction of our own guests this afternoon.
