After an overnight navigation from the central part of the archipelago towards the western most part, and right when the sun was rising, we made an announcement over our PA system, for those interested in going out on deck for whale watching. The weather outside was very pleasant, perfect for this activity, and many of our National Geographic Endeavour explorers came out, armed with binoculars.
We did not spot any big cetacean in this area, but it was very rewarding to be outside, enjoying the view of some shield volcanoes in the surrounded area. Another plus was the presence of many species of sea birds fishing as we sailed, and these sightings made this pre-breakfast activity very interesting.
We continued our daily program, dropping anchor at Fernandina Island. This big active volcano has just a single visitor site, but there is much to see here—piles of endemic marine iguanas, sea lions, Galapagos flightless cormorants, Galapagos hawks, and a very beautiful tidal pools formations, which is a resting spot for rays and turtles, as well as a good hunting spot for heron, pelicans and frigatebirds.
After an amazing morning activity, we continued our early afternoon activity with deep water snorkeling in a protected bay. Each visitor site in Galapagos is very different from one day to another, both on land and in the water, and today this site could not have been better. We snorkeled with turtles, penguins, sea lions, cormorants and lots of different colorful fishes—it was a spectacular afternoon!
Our final activity took place in the same location, and this time we had the opportunity to enjoy the amazing geological formation of this visitor site, and to take pictures of the Galapagos animals. Another fantastic day in the enchanted islands!
