Isabela & Fernandina Islands
We are now in the westernmost area of the archipelago; a nice cool breeze surrounds us as we look for whales, sea lions, fur seals, and lots of sea birds. We encounter the first flocks of red necked phalaropes resting on the surface of the water, this year they arrived a little later than on the previous years. But now we see them in Galápagos, and some are spinning on the surface of the sea trying to get food. Later when we look through the lens of our microscope, we discover all the small creatures that constitute plankton, and find that many small crustaceans are out there, swimming and feeding on phytoplankton, which is very abundant, that makes water look green. This morning we found several ocean sun fish, almost twenty all around, we also discovered the reason why: there are many sea jellies, some have the most interesting shapes, they are round, barrel like, or look like ribbons, and sun fish feed on them.
We had a wonderful time snorkeling with penguins: some were so curious that they came to inspect us very closely with their beaks! After pulling our fingers and toes and once their curiosity was satisfied, then they went to pull the ropes of our Zodiacs while sea turtles swam calmly with us. During the afternoon we encountered some sea turtles sleeping on the shore, we walked slowly but some woke up as we went by them.
We loved our day very much, and enjoyed the company of so many iguanas and sea lions. The sun sets behind the horizon as we look forward to be on the island of Isabela again tomorrow, while we discuss this marvelous day we have experienced together.
We are now in the westernmost area of the archipelago; a nice cool breeze surrounds us as we look for whales, sea lions, fur seals, and lots of sea birds. We encounter the first flocks of red necked phalaropes resting on the surface of the water, this year they arrived a little later than on the previous years. But now we see them in Galápagos, and some are spinning on the surface of the sea trying to get food. Later when we look through the lens of our microscope, we discover all the small creatures that constitute plankton, and find that many small crustaceans are out there, swimming and feeding on phytoplankton, which is very abundant, that makes water look green. This morning we found several ocean sun fish, almost twenty all around, we also discovered the reason why: there are many sea jellies, some have the most interesting shapes, they are round, barrel like, or look like ribbons, and sun fish feed on them.
We had a wonderful time snorkeling with penguins: some were so curious that they came to inspect us very closely with their beaks! After pulling our fingers and toes and once their curiosity was satisfied, then they went to pull the ropes of our Zodiacs while sea turtles swam calmly with us. During the afternoon we encountered some sea turtles sleeping on the shore, we walked slowly but some woke up as we went by them.
We loved our day very much, and enjoyed the company of so many iguanas and sea lions. The sun sets behind the horizon as we look forward to be on the island of Isabela again tomorrow, while we discuss this marvelous day we have experienced together.
