Floreana and Isabela Islands
The announcement of “dolphins at the bow” was made through the P.A. system this morning; people abandoned their breakfast tables and ran to the outside decks to enjoy the company of one of the most playful species in our planet, the bottlenose dolphins. Dolphins were jumping out of the water, speeding up to catch the huge wave made by the Polaris on its way to Champion islet. I could watch dolphins forever! And they did stay with us for quite a long time. The snorkeling around Champion was magnificent, just as the glass bottom boat experience was.
While we sailed to Isabela for the afternoon visit, we had a second encounter with marine mammals. This was a much bigger kind of cetacean, most probably a blue whale, the largest living creature on earth.
Puerto Villamil, located in the southern part of Isabela, welcomed us with a nice breeze. This is a tiny fishing village, inhabited by about 3000 people. The highlight of the visit was the tortoise breeding center, where we saw our first Galápagos giant tortoises of the week. We learned that there are several tortoise subspecies in this archipelago, found on the different islands and volcanoes, and Isabela is home for at least 5 of those different races. Sunset brings us the promise of more discoveries for the days to come.
The announcement of “dolphins at the bow” was made through the P.A. system this morning; people abandoned their breakfast tables and ran to the outside decks to enjoy the company of one of the most playful species in our planet, the bottlenose dolphins. Dolphins were jumping out of the water, speeding up to catch the huge wave made by the Polaris on its way to Champion islet. I could watch dolphins forever! And they did stay with us for quite a long time. The snorkeling around Champion was magnificent, just as the glass bottom boat experience was.
While we sailed to Isabela for the afternoon visit, we had a second encounter with marine mammals. This was a much bigger kind of cetacean, most probably a blue whale, the largest living creature on earth.
Puerto Villamil, located in the southern part of Isabela, welcomed us with a nice breeze. This is a tiny fishing village, inhabited by about 3000 people. The highlight of the visit was the tortoise breeding center, where we saw our first Galápagos giant tortoises of the week. We learned that there are several tortoise subspecies in this archipelago, found on the different islands and volcanoes, and Isabela is home for at least 5 of those different races. Sunset brings us the promise of more discoveries for the days to come.
