Fernandina and Isabela Islands
We arrived to Fernandina Island on a beautiful, sunny day, and before arrival we had one whale sighting—a nice way to start the day. This is the youngest island of the archipelago, with a well-defined shape. After anchoring we observed some flightless cormorants diving in an area nearby the National Geographic Endeavour.
After landing on the dock at Fernandina and as we started our expedition of the day, we found ourselves surrounded by a few dozen marine iguanas; the biggest in the Galápagos Islands live on this side of the archipelago. Every now and then they sneezed, but it was not an aggressive behavior, just a way to get rid of some salts. The white sand here had many holes, actually the nests of marine iguanas, and one was moving some sand and digging the nest. While this happened a sea lion began to move to the sea; suddenly from a small tidal pool another male started to move, chasing this young male away.
Halfway along the trail we found a group of flightless cormorants drying their wings, their deep blue eyes looking at the ocean. Another flightless cormorant was in the small tide pool picking up seaweed and moving it around, while in the background hundreds of marine iguanas lay on a rock, motionless while they waited for their body temperatures to increase before getting in the water and swimming to the shallows around this area to feed on algae.
Later it was time to discover the underwater world of Fernandina Island; during snorkeling we saw sea turtles, a penguin in the water and a small shark. The conditions were calm, and after enjoying this beautiful place we returned onboard for lunch.
During the afternoon we took a ride in our Zodiacs along the northern part of the coast of Isabela Island, at Punta Vicente Roca. The ocean was a little choppy, but that did not stop us from observing a colony of fur seals, with some young ones playing in the water, enjoying the strong swell. Along the cliff of Punta Vicente Roca we found many blue-footed boobies perching on the rocks, and the most impressive and surprising moment was when we found five penguins standing on a rock. What occurred later was something worth remembering for a lifetime: a female sea lion decided to use the same rock to nurse her pup, so she jumped on the rock and barked at the small penguins. Most left the rock except a very stubborn and courageous one who decided to stay and “hold his ground,” as little as it was. He stayed on the rock, moving a little to the edge, but not jumping into the water. There he was, that little stubborn penguin standing on “his rock” – no female sea lion could move him from the rock, so eventually the pup jumped onto the rock and the female sea lion had no choice but to start nursing the pup, as the little penguin observed the scene.
We eventually had to leave and go back onboard, and as we departed, one of our last observations was that little stubborn penguin still standing on “his” piece of rock.
