Isabela & Fernandina Islands
It took us all night long to reach the northwestern realm of the Galápagos archipelago. This morning we were navigating along the northern coastline of Isabela Island. Here is where you see perfect shield volcanoes. We got up very early this morning to enjoy the navigation, and many of our guests came up to the outer decks to scan the horizon for new sightings since this is the coolest and richest part of the Galápagos archipelago.
Later on, once we crossed the Equatorial line, we got a great look of a cross-section of a big shield volcano known as Ecuador. Later, we went out for a zodiac cruise along the southern flank of this volcano and had the chance to explore, a bit closer, the wildlife that inhabit this part of the encantadas. We encountered penguins, flightless cormorants, sea turtles and the odd-looking ocean sunfish, that being the highlight of the morning!
After a very successful snorkeling outing with turtles and a great variety species of tropical fish, we came back to the ship to depart for our next destination of the day. We never even thought that during our navigation we would encounter at least five hundred common dolphins pirouetting and riding almost along the ship. It was spectacular to see them all surrounding the ship, as if we were in the middle of a parade!
Later on, we disembarked on Punta Espinoza, Fernandina Island. Being the youngest, Fernandina is considered to be one of the most active volcanoes in the Galápagos. It was spectacular to watch those huge swells hitting the dramatic shore lines full of wildlife, flightless cormorant nesting, and lots of iguanas and sea lions happily sharing this pristine environment.
Late in the afternoon we all came back to the ship dreaming for more things to come.
It took us all night long to reach the northwestern realm of the Galápagos archipelago. This morning we were navigating along the northern coastline of Isabela Island. Here is where you see perfect shield volcanoes. We got up very early this morning to enjoy the navigation, and many of our guests came up to the outer decks to scan the horizon for new sightings since this is the coolest and richest part of the Galápagos archipelago.
Later on, once we crossed the Equatorial line, we got a great look of a cross-section of a big shield volcano known as Ecuador. Later, we went out for a zodiac cruise along the southern flank of this volcano and had the chance to explore, a bit closer, the wildlife that inhabit this part of the encantadas. We encountered penguins, flightless cormorants, sea turtles and the odd-looking ocean sunfish, that being the highlight of the morning!
After a very successful snorkeling outing with turtles and a great variety species of tropical fish, we came back to the ship to depart for our next destination of the day. We never even thought that during our navigation we would encounter at least five hundred common dolphins pirouetting and riding almost along the ship. It was spectacular to see them all surrounding the ship, as if we were in the middle of a parade!
Later on, we disembarked on Punta Espinoza, Fernandina Island. Being the youngest, Fernandina is considered to be one of the most active volcanoes in the Galápagos. It was spectacular to watch those huge swells hitting the dramatic shore lines full of wildlife, flightless cormorant nesting, and lots of iguanas and sea lions happily sharing this pristine environment.
Late in the afternoon we all came back to the ship dreaming for more things to come.
