Floreana and Isabela Islands
Our experience began very early today; we disembarked at Post office Bay to see the famous barrel left by the whalers as the only resource of communication this people had whilst they stayed around the Pacific Ocean in search of sperm whales, to get very fine oil called spermaceti.
After that we were surprised by the presence and tameness of two Galápagos penguins having a little break on the basaltic rocks. On the islands, there are around 1,500 individuals and the major concentration of population is found all around the Islands of Fernandina and Isabela where we find the coldest water.
This is the second smallest penguin of the world after the fairy penguin of Australia, and lives in lava tubes near the sea. It is also the northernmost penguin and since the Galápagos is situated right north and south of the equator, we can say that there are penguins in the northern hemisphere. They are making a very slow comeback since 1983 when their populations almost disappeared from the archipelago, leaving only 300 birds behind. This is not the only problem they have to cope with, but many of the islands where they breed are infested by feral organisms such us rats, pigs, cats, dogs which destroy their nest, eggs and chicks.
To have experienced the snorkeling activity was such a good treat, especially when we had the sea lions playing with us.
Our experience began very early today; we disembarked at Post office Bay to see the famous barrel left by the whalers as the only resource of communication this people had whilst they stayed around the Pacific Ocean in search of sperm whales, to get very fine oil called spermaceti.
After that we were surprised by the presence and tameness of two Galápagos penguins having a little break on the basaltic rocks. On the islands, there are around 1,500 individuals and the major concentration of population is found all around the Islands of Fernandina and Isabela where we find the coldest water.
This is the second smallest penguin of the world after the fairy penguin of Australia, and lives in lava tubes near the sea. It is also the northernmost penguin and since the Galápagos is situated right north and south of the equator, we can say that there are penguins in the northern hemisphere. They are making a very slow comeback since 1983 when their populations almost disappeared from the archipelago, leaving only 300 birds behind. This is not the only problem they have to cope with, but many of the islands where they breed are infested by feral organisms such us rats, pigs, cats, dogs which destroy their nest, eggs and chicks.
To have experienced the snorkeling activity was such a good treat, especially when we had the sea lions playing with us.
