The Galapagos are full of wonders and unexpected encounters. Some come from above land and others under the blue heart of the planet. We started our day exploring the calm seas of the Galapagos in search of any cetaceans that could decide to perform a show for us. We were surprised by a pod of around 40 pilot whales traveling together with around 80 bottlenose dolphins, heading to the northern side of Isabela Island. After breakfast, we crossed the equator line and were baptized with the permission of King Neptune.
We arrive at Punta Vicente Roca and had a Zodiac ride, where we were able to spot Galapagos penguins and flightless cormorants nesting along the coast. This is also an outstanding visitor site with stunning geological features, not only tuff (compacted volcanic ash) and rusty lava with odd shapes, but also the titanic cliffs that sheltered the National Geographic Islander, anchored in the shallow waters.
Life and actions are unexpected in the Galapagos, and as a naturalist, although by experience I have a general idea of which species we might see, at the same time, I actually never know what surprises these islands will have ready for me every day we go out there and explore. The Galapagos penguins were just bathing on the surface of the ocean and some others were fishing and swimming around our guests. We snorkeled around the same cove, and this time the penguins got a bit closer to us underwater while these small fellows were fishing and having a buffet right in front of our eyes. We encountered many Pacific green sea turtles and swam with them for around an hour.
The National Geographic Islander navigated towards the most western island of the Galapagos and anchored at Punta Suarez, situated on Fernandina Island (the youngest of the Galapagos). We found the land of dragons right in front of our eyes - hundreds of large marine iguanas welcomed us to enter the most preserved island in the enchanted archipelago. The black marine iguanas were covering large areas of the path to bask under the sun and sneeze salt out of their nostrils. This was the salt they gathered inside their bodies when diving under the ocean to graze on green algae. This is the only sea going iguana in the world, and definitely endemic to the enchanted archipelago!
