Wednesday 6th November 2013
Espinoza Point – Isla Fernandina
In terms of seeing wildlife and unusual landscapes this morning’s walk was the best so far. The pangas dropped us on some lava rocks. It’s breeding season for the marine iguanas; on Fernandina they are everywhere. We even managed to catch a couple of males being territorial and having a tussle. They nod heads vigorously initially and, if that isn’t enough to ward off their adversary, they eventually butt heads.
We saw flightless cormorants, Galápagos hawks, a snake, a hermit crab, sea turtles on land (which is very rare as they only come on land to lay eggs), sea lions and Galápagos doves. Flightless cormorants have, through evolution, exchanged flight for improved swimming ability (they have muscular legs for paddling and tiny wings).
The colours of the landscape were vivid and contrasting. You could clearly see the material the beaches were made up of. The remains of various sea creatures lay all around, beige sea shells and deep burgundy sea urchin spikes.
Caleta Tagus – Isla Isabela
The afternoon walk was short and easy although I somehow managed to twist my swankle again on the way back down. This walk was about the landscape rather than the wild life. The pangas dropped us on the beach and from there we walked up the face of an inactive volcano for around 20 minutes in the heat of the afternoon sun. We were rewarded with stunning views of a crater lake on the way up. At the top it becomes apparent that it is actually a crater inside another crater which is rare to see.
Crossing the Equator
We watched the sunset from the upper deck of the boat again. The frigate birds liked flying alongside the moving boat and this time I managed to get a good picture. Travelling north we passed the equator, west of Isabela, at around 8pm and then again, east of Isabela, at 2am.
Ramblers Rumblings 