Today we arrived at Isabela Island and our target was Punta Vicente Roca, a wonderful little bay with rich marine life at the foot of Ecuador volcano. After breakfast we had a small celebration for crossing the line of the equator. Once at our destination we had a Zodiac ride and got ready to jump into the clear blue water. But we did not. A male Orca whale showed up with hundreds of birds following, so we changed our plans and followed him for a good while as he was diving and hunting! After that amazing adventure we went snorkeling with sun fish, lots of marine turtles, penguins, flightless cormorants, and multicolor fish. After the water activities we came back to our ship, got ready, and enjoyed a delicious Ecuadorian lunch and a short siesta.
Our next destination was Fernandina, the youngest island at about 350 years old and one of the most pristine islands on earth. It was formed by “la cumbre” volcano, which is considered one of the most active volcanoes in the world. In the last 50 years Fernandina has erupted 14 times and its crater has collapsed rapidly. In 1978 it was only 300 meters deep and now is about 900 meters deep.
We saw hundreds of marine iguanas warming up under the equatorial sun. The feeling of being here is very unique. A few mangroves colonize the lava fields near the shore and lava cacti as pioneer plants patch the black ground. We walked for about two hours in this amazing place and we found sea lions and their babies, cormorants, many tide pools where crabs and turtles were feeding, a snake ready to hunt some baby marine iguanas, and a hawk looking for insects to eat. We were very pleased to have such a great, unique day here in paradise.
