Early in the morning we entered Bolivar Canal. We went with our coffees to our outer decks to observe this majestic scenario: the new Islands of Isabela and Fernandina, both with their volcanoes and lava fields.
Six active shield volcanoes are standing in this area. One is la Cumbre in Fernandina Island. The other five are together forming the largest Island in the Galapagos—Isabela.
The air was cold. The waters in the Bolivar Canal are the coldest in the archipelago due to the upwelling of Cromwell Current. They are the richest, too.
Our first visit was Punta Vicente Roca, in Isabela. This cove is home of many sea creatures! We explored the shores from our Zodiacs to find the two flightless birds of Galapagos—the Galapagos penguin and the flightless cormorant. We spotted as well dozens of green Pacific sea turtles coming to the surface to breathe. Brown noddies and blue-footed boobies were feeding on fish, and the largest marine iguanas we have seen yet were basking on the rocks. We found some fur seals resting on the shade of big pile of collapsed rocks, and a couple of us spotted some oceanic sun fish.
Then it was time to discover the marine ecosystems! We got into our wetsuits and jumped in the cold waters to get the wonderful experience of swimming with sea turtles. Once you find the first turtle you can just observe it for hours. They move so graciously and slow. Some are deeply asleep on the bottom; others can swim next to you without noticing you are there!
In the afternoon we navigated towards Fernandina Island. After lunch we spotted some whale spouts. Bryde’s whales where spotted at the distance! These are shy whales, but we got a fairly closer look. We counted at least five spouts at the same time!
Punta Espinoza is the only visitor site on this pristine Island. The wonders of nature are represented there at their best. We walked among hundreds of marine iguanas while an amazing landscape surrounded us. We saw new lava fields, pioneer vegetation, sea lions, Galapagos hawks hunting, and flightless cormorants in their courtship. To end the day, we watched an amazing sunset behind “La Cumbre” Volcano and had a cocktail on the sun deck!
