Happy Valentine's Day! We crossed the equator twice for the first time today and became "Galapagos Shellbacks". We saw a Shark Whale and a Bryde's Whale before breakfast.
We first took a panga (zodiac) ride at Punta Vicente Roca at the foot of Ecuador Volcano. Most of the Volcano collapsed into the ocean and you can see the inner caldera wall and floor. It was a beautiful morning and we saw many animals: Blue Footed Boobys, Penguins, Pelicans, Sea Turtles, Flightless Cormorants, Brown Noddy, Great Blue Heron, and Marine Iguanas. After the zodiac ride, Diane went deep water snorkeling - complete with wet-suit - and swam with Sea Turtles, Cormorants, Penguins and lots of fish, including the Moorish Idol. It was unbelievable how close the wildlife comes to the people.
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| Penguins |
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| Sea Turtle |
Wolf Volcano on the island of Isabela was the sight of the discovery of a new species in 2009, a pink iguana! (We were not able to see one but you can by following
this link.)
In the afternoon, Diane hiked on the volcanic island of Fernandina at Punta Espinosa. The walk was very rough over three types of lava: ropey (pahoe), sharp (pahoehoe) and pillow (ahah). Most of the lava flows are full of thousands of Marine Iguanas, lava lizards, Sally lightfoot crab and Ghost crab. Sea Lions also nest on the hot lava rock. Marine Iguanas lie in groups on the lava rock to warm up from the cold water.
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| Trail |
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| Flightless Cormorants |
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| Naturalist, little cruisemate and cactus on lava rock. |
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| Sally Lightfoot Crab |
A small amount of vegetation has started to grow. The "sand" is actually created by Parrotfish which grind up coral rock ingested with reef creatures and excrete it as sand. One Parrotfish can excrete 800 lb of sand per year!
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| Marine Iguana |
Something very creepy about seeing so many iguana like this. Something out of a sci fi movie.
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