Isabela and Fernandina Islands
Flat sea, great light, nice cool breeze - we knew conditions were perfect for marine mammals, and indeed a beautiful pod of acrobatic common dolphins were spotted off our port side. They were feeding and we all had a great time watching and enjoying them for a while. Later on another sighting, this time pilot whales, slowed down the Islander. We kept navigating toward Ecuador volcano which reveals to us a cross section of a collapsed volcano. Here you can see the inside of the caldera without having to hike thousands feet. We anchored at Punta Vicente Roca for a variety of activities such as Zodiac rides, kayaking and snorkeling with sea turtles.
The afternoon found us anchored off Punta Espinoza, Fernandina. This is the largest untouched island of the Archipelago. This place takes as back in time and gives us an idea how the islands were formed, and in the beginning were initially devoid of life. Therefore on this afternoon’s visit we see pioneer plants such as mangroves and lava cactus. Now Fernandina is an excellent habitat for sea birds such as penguins and flightless cormorants. It is also well known for marine iguanas, and we saw piles of them sun bathing on the basaltic lava flows. By the time the sun was low in the sky, we headed back to the ship, dreaming of more things to come.
Flat sea, great light, nice cool breeze - we knew conditions were perfect for marine mammals, and indeed a beautiful pod of acrobatic common dolphins were spotted off our port side. They were feeding and we all had a great time watching and enjoying them for a while. Later on another sighting, this time pilot whales, slowed down the Islander. We kept navigating toward Ecuador volcano which reveals to us a cross section of a collapsed volcano. Here you can see the inside of the caldera without having to hike thousands feet. We anchored at Punta Vicente Roca for a variety of activities such as Zodiac rides, kayaking and snorkeling with sea turtles.
The afternoon found us anchored off Punta Espinoza, Fernandina. This is the largest untouched island of the Archipelago. This place takes as back in time and gives us an idea how the islands were formed, and in the beginning were initially devoid of life. Therefore on this afternoon’s visit we see pioneer plants such as mangroves and lava cactus. Now Fernandina is an excellent habitat for sea birds such as penguins and flightless cormorants. It is also well known for marine iguanas, and we saw piles of them sun bathing on the basaltic lava flows. By the time the sun was low in the sky, we headed back to the ship, dreaming of more things to come.
