Galapagos Island: A Zoologists' Dream: Day 6 - 7/28 - Fernandina & Isabela (Day 3 in Galapagos)

I know I keep saying this, but seriously, today was AMAZING! Over night we traveled 90 nautical miles to an area in the pacific just between Fernandina and Isabela. KH woke up early and was able to spot dolphins and “blow hole action,” a clear sign that whales were in the area!

Morning Hike on Fernandina Island

This is the newest island of all the Galapagos and there are even “lava ribbons” that are only 4 years old, a result of the most recent volcanic eruption (today we saw black ash spurting from the volcano). The terrain is made entirely of black lava rock, lava ribbons, white sand, and such little greenery that the little the island has pops out. Our Naturalist Gaby told us that all the water on this island is salt-water, except for the very top of the volcano, where freshwater can be found; however, it takes over a days hike to reach this summit. While on the island, we hiked through the different types of lava - the blackness of the igneous rock made the island incredibly hot - and saw hundreds of black marine iguanas, sea lions (mostly babies), flightless cormorants, and sea turtles! Again, the animals, have no fear, and so there were times when we were stepping in between the marine iguanas who refused to move. The Black Marine Iguanas are so rare, because the Galapagos are the only place they live int he entire world and they are the only marine iguanas in the entire world as well. We took more video of them swimming and it is unreal how similar they move compared to crocodiles. In addition to the Black Marine Iguanas, we saw a Bandit Snake, also black. It is amazing to see how all these animals have adapted in regard to their volcanic environment - something Darwin touched on in regard to natural selection.

Afternoon Snorkel on Isabela Island @ Punta Vicente Roca

WOW! I didn’t think snorkeling today could be better than yesterday, but it was by far the greatest thing we’ve done yet. Our zodiac took us to a of cove on Isabela Island known for its scuba diving and high populations of sea turtles. Within two minutes, we saw sea turtles who seemed to effortlessly float through the water, occasionally stopping to nibble on some algae. They were so majestic and fearless that at one point, one almost floated into me! About 20 minutes in to our adventure, we finally spotted penguins! They were tiny and incredibly fast - almost like they were being shot out of a canon. We got amazing video of this, but our blog is being dumb and it won’t let us upload it - I’ll try again when we’re back home. We also had an incredible encounter with a curious and mischievous sea lion who got within a foot of me at one point - just incredible! As we swam around the coast of Isabela and into a shallower nook, we witnessed the “hang out” spot of more than 5 dozen sea turtles. It was breath taking. Some were small and active, whereas others were HUGE (literally, more than 6 ft. tall and 5 ft. wide….seriously) and lazily laid on the ocean floor. As were loaded back onto the zodiac to come home, we again saw a giant manta, just hovering at the surface. There are truly no words for how amazing today and this afternoon were - possibly the most exciting moments of my life. Tomorrow, we get to go kayaking and snorkeling again; the only animals left on our bucket list are the Galapagos tortoises and any type of whale! Our naturalists have assured us that the tortoises are a definite within the next few days and that the whales are a real possibility! Fingers crossed!!!

At the end of the day, the entire boat had a champagne toast as we crossed the equator - it was right around sunset and incredibly beautiful.

Fun Fact: The Galapagos Islands are the coldest place that exists on the equator.

Green sea turtle!