Isabela & Fernandina Islands
We circumnavigated Roca Redonda this morning, which is the remains of a huge underwater volcano with just its tip out of the water. This is home for thousands of sea birds; we passed very close to Ecuador Volcano which half collapsed under water, and near Punta Vicente Roca we spotted some manta rays.
Today for the first time we crossed the equator line, very early in the morning. Later in the day we did it again and by this time we had a special celebration on board; we gave certificates to our guests that had crossed the line for first time, and they officially became "Galápagos Shellbacks".
At about 9:30 we started to explore by Zodiac, where we were surprised by the ocean sunfish, better known by its Latin name Mola mola. They swam side by side to the Zodiac. We also saw the two species of flightless birds which are endemic to the Galápagos, found mostly on the western side of the Archipelago, the flightless cormorant and the Galápagos penguin. The scenery of the site is so remarkable, and we swam with green sea turtles, and many tropical fishes.
Later in the afternoon we repositioned the ship to the next Island, Fernandina, the largest pristine island in the Galápagos, because nothing has been introduced here, and almost everything is completely natural. It is one of the places where the biggest marine iguanas of the entire archipelago are found. We were fascinated with such incredible creatures. I cannot imagine what the first impression was of Fray Thomas the Berlanga who discovered the islands in 1535; and in the present day, our visitors are likely equally impressed by these groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean.
We circumnavigated Roca Redonda this morning, which is the remains of a huge underwater volcano with just its tip out of the water. This is home for thousands of sea birds; we passed very close to Ecuador Volcano which half collapsed under water, and near Punta Vicente Roca we spotted some manta rays.
Today for the first time we crossed the equator line, very early in the morning. Later in the day we did it again and by this time we had a special celebration on board; we gave certificates to our guests that had crossed the line for first time, and they officially became "Galápagos Shellbacks".
At about 9:30 we started to explore by Zodiac, where we were surprised by the ocean sunfish, better known by its Latin name Mola mola. They swam side by side to the Zodiac. We also saw the two species of flightless birds which are endemic to the Galápagos, found mostly on the western side of the Archipelago, the flightless cormorant and the Galápagos penguin. The scenery of the site is so remarkable, and we swam with green sea turtles, and many tropical fishes.
Later in the afternoon we repositioned the ship to the next Island, Fernandina, the largest pristine island in the Galápagos, because nothing has been introduced here, and almost everything is completely natural. It is one of the places where the biggest marine iguanas of the entire archipelago are found. We were fascinated with such incredible creatures. I cannot imagine what the first impression was of Fray Thomas the Berlanga who discovered the islands in 1535; and in the present day, our visitors are likely equally impressed by these groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean.
