Fernandina and Isabela Islands
Well, she lived up to her reputation as a true Galápagos volcano that erupts for a very brief period of time (two to four days are normal), and the eruption had virtually fizzled by the time we arrived at 4:00 a.m. this morning. We already had heard from reports that the horizontal vent 5 miles or so from the coast and the rivers of lava had come to a stop and activity had died out the night before. However, as hope lives eternal, we planned our visit to the western reaches of the archipelago in such a way that we arrived before dawn in front of where the eruption had been reported (in the same general vicinity as her eruption in 1995). A few hard core individuals were up at this early hour and what we saw gave us a little hope. Small points of light could be seen on occasion, some flaring up a tad, others dying out (and all only seen through binoculars). Around 5:15 a.m. I woke everyone up before dawn would lighten the sky any further, and many of the hopefuls came out on deck. There had been one tiny fireworks display that looked promising, but in the end everything faded out quietly into the grey of daybreak.
However, we now found ourselves in a region of the archipelago where we normally do not wander in the Polaris, off the western coast of Fernandina Island and with plenty of time to look for marine life. Sure enough, right before breakfast we spotted two denizens of the area known to inhabit these tremendously deep waters off the Galápagos platform. They fluked and dove before we could approach for photographs, but the blows, dorsal fins and tail were enough to confirm we were in the presence of sperm whales!
The morning continued with more excitement, as well. We did several loops in the Polaris over the equator line, from south to north to south to north, due to spotting common dolphins and an elusive Bryde’s whale while tooting the ship’s horn. Zodiac rides around Pta. Vicente Roca found us penguins, cormorants, boobies, terns, turtles and ocean sunfish.
Of course Pta. Espinoza on the northeastern side of Fernandina was spectacular in the afternoon. Snorkelers off the point came back with tales of turtles and iguanas, despite the green waters of limited visibility today. Sea lions, marine iguanas by the dozens, nesting flightless cormorants, sally lightfoot crabs and herons preying on them were highlights. Photographers lingered until sunset on shore, and everyone brought a bit of Fernandina home in their hearts.
Well, she lived up to her reputation as a true Galápagos volcano that erupts for a very brief period of time (two to four days are normal), and the eruption had virtually fizzled by the time we arrived at 4:00 a.m. this morning. We already had heard from reports that the horizontal vent 5 miles or so from the coast and the rivers of lava had come to a stop and activity had died out the night before. However, as hope lives eternal, we planned our visit to the western reaches of the archipelago in such a way that we arrived before dawn in front of where the eruption had been reported (in the same general vicinity as her eruption in 1995). A few hard core individuals were up at this early hour and what we saw gave us a little hope. Small points of light could be seen on occasion, some flaring up a tad, others dying out (and all only seen through binoculars). Around 5:15 a.m. I woke everyone up before dawn would lighten the sky any further, and many of the hopefuls came out on deck. There had been one tiny fireworks display that looked promising, but in the end everything faded out quietly into the grey of daybreak.
However, we now found ourselves in a region of the archipelago where we normally do not wander in the Polaris, off the western coast of Fernandina Island and with plenty of time to look for marine life. Sure enough, right before breakfast we spotted two denizens of the area known to inhabit these tremendously deep waters off the Galápagos platform. They fluked and dove before we could approach for photographs, but the blows, dorsal fins and tail were enough to confirm we were in the presence of sperm whales!
The morning continued with more excitement, as well. We did several loops in the Polaris over the equator line, from south to north to south to north, due to spotting common dolphins and an elusive Bryde’s whale while tooting the ship’s horn. Zodiac rides around Pta. Vicente Roca found us penguins, cormorants, boobies, terns, turtles and ocean sunfish.
Of course Pta. Espinoza on the northeastern side of Fernandina was spectacular in the afternoon. Snorkelers off the point came back with tales of turtles and iguanas, despite the green waters of limited visibility today. Sea lions, marine iguanas by the dozens, nesting flightless cormorants, sally lightfoot crabs and herons preying on them were highlights. Photographers lingered until sunset on shore, and everyone brought a bit of Fernandina home in their hearts.
