The two youngest islands in Galapagos lie in the western region of the archipelago. Both were formed as the product of recent volcanic activity, and today we had the chance to explore them.
After breakfast, we headed out to a site called Punta Espinoza on Fernandina, which is considered to be one of the largest pristine islands in the world. This location is teaming with wildlife, in particular the large marine iguanas that are found all over the area, still together in the morning after piling themselves close to each other in order to stay warm through the night. We were able to take lots of pictures of them before they went to the water for their first meal of the day, which largely consists of green sea weed.
Sea lions are another attraction of this place, and we enjoyed watching their playful behaviors and charm, which has a way of commanding our attention. Birds of many different kinds are also found here, and one of them in particular is found only in this part of the world—the flightless cormorant. These cormorants can no longer fly, possibly due to an abundance of rich food that they can easily access here throughout the year, in this area between the young islands. Many other species also benefit from this abundance, including penguins, fur seals, boobies, pelicans and more.
Everywhere we looked, we saw turtles and the always attractive Sally Lightfoot crabs that paint the rocks with splashes of red and orange.
Later in the afternoon, we were ready for snorkeling, hoping to encounter the amazing Pacific green turtles that are plentiful here. We were lucky, the sea turtles were everywhere, it was impossible to miss them as we swam around the little cove at Punta Vicente Roca, on Isabela Island. It was a very exciting outing, and we also encountered penguins, cormorants and sea lions.
We returned to the ship for a quick turnaround before our next activity—a Zodiac ride along the coast, where there is always something interesting to find. Once again, we were not disappointed: fur seals, diving boobies, sea lions, penguins, cormorants and again the turtles all put on quite the show for us. A sun fish even appeared for a short time before disappearing into the blue ocean, as if saying “you have had enough for the day, and the celebration for crossing the equator awaits!”
Another amazing adventure in the Galapagos.
