In the morning, we visited the beautiful island of Fernandina. Fernandina is considered the most pristine island since humans haven’t altered much of its surface. The island is around half a million years old, and it is still in constant development; both its geology and its organic life are currently evolving.
Here we took a great walk around Punta Espinoza, a very recent peninsula with an estimated age of 200 years old. The most abundant vegetation are red mangroves, which offers shelter and acts as a nursery for fish and other animals. We also encountered several predators like the Galapagos hawk breeding and patrolling the territory and several Fernandina racer snakes, which are currently very active due to the marine iguana’s hatching season.
While snorkeling, our guests marveled at dozens of sea turtles and marine iguanas feeding on the algae that grows near the coast. In addition, several Galapagos sea lions displayed their agile movements in the water.
In the afternoon, we roamed around Punta Vicente Roca, a wonderful place to do a Zodiac ride for coastal exploration. We encountered a good number of flightless cormorants, sea lions, and more marine wildlife. Also, this area is great for its geological landscape, as well as its privileged position. For this last reason, we closed the afternoon with a ceremony as we crossed the equatorial line.
Photographers: Sebastian Cedeño Abad and Cynthia Manning
