The westernmost islands of this archipelago, Fernandina and Isabela, are the youngest islands of them all. The scenery of the shield volcanoes made it easy for our guests to understand what geological time means and how erosion has shaped the landscapes of the planet.
We went to Punta Espinoza in the morning, an island that takes us back to very beginning of time. It’s the youngest of the chain, around a hundred thousand years old, which in geological time is considered a baby. The very early processes of life are taking place here—the formation of soil, and the simplicity of the ecosystem together with its fragility made us think that this place needs to be protected. The life cycles of the species that inhabit it should not be altered by humans so it can continue with its evolutionary processes.
In the afternoon, we visited Punta Vicente Roca along the coastline of Isabela Island. Here we saw the unique species that inhabit this place, like Galapagos penguins (the smallest on the globe), flightless cormorants, marine iguanas, and Pacific green sea turtles, all of which made our afternoon just incredible. As we crossed the equatorial line, we saw how the Ecuador Volcano has already submerged into the water, letting us observe from the inside these very interesting lava formations that make oceanic islands.
As we returned to the ship at sunset time we realized the overwhelming power of nature that surrounds us. It makes us feel like a part of this precious planet that well deserves to be conserved!
