Fernandina Island

I awoke early in our cabin in the Galaxy Yacht. While Mary got a little extra sleep and did her back exercises, I went up on the sun deck to enjoy sunup. Eventually other members of our team of 15 passengers came through the lounge for coffee or tea.

Steve with a sea lion

Breakfast at 7 am included eggs sunny side up, yucca patties with cheese, the usual fresh fruits, and juice made from tree tomatoes. We had a little time to prepare for our walk on Fernandina Island at 8 am. We boarded the pangas for the short ride to Fernandina where we had a dry landing at Punta Espinoza and walked along designated paths along the beach. Areas were marked as prohibiting foot traffic since marine iguanas use the area as nesting sites. We saw hundreds of marine iguanas and even more lava lizards. Three Galápagos hawks roosted in a tree near us. There were numerous sea lions in the area, many with very small pups. We saw many Sally Lightfoot crabs including a mating pair. As we walked about 1.5 kilometers on the trail, we even saw a Galápagos racer.

Green sea turtle at Punta Espinoza

Much of this island is covered with the rope-like “pa hoe hoe” lava on which nearly no vegetation exists. There were broad sandy beaches from the ground volcanic rock in the area. These sandy areas are perfect for iguanas, turtles, and other animals to nest, so we had to avoid those areas. Most of the island’s perimeter is surrounded by mangrove trees except there the lava flow killed the vegetation.

Sea lion at Punta Espinoza

After nearly 90 minutes we boarded the pangas and returned the Galaxy where we put our wetsuits on and snorkeled around Fernandina Island. Like the previous time, we snorkeled in shallow areas that are protected from the highest waves. The calmer areas tend to attract more wildlife than areas with higher waves and had more visibility. We saw fish of all sizes and species as well as green sea turtles, sea urchins, and one very playful sea lion. This young pinniped seemed persistent in getting us to romp. While taking snapshots with my underwater camera. The sea lion came right at me appearing want to bite the camera. I tried to photograph the animal, but it was too fast for me in the water. There were a number of 5–6-foot white tip reef sharks in the area, but they (fortunately) had no interest in us.

Mary preparing to snorkel

We snorkeled for about 40 minutes when returned to the Zodiac panga to carry us to the Galaxy Yacht. Lunch was waiting on us when we arrived, and it was delicious as expected. Choices included shredded beef, pork frittata, cooked sweet plantains, roasted beets, and hominy that was fried with eggs.

After lunch the Galaxy moved north along Isabela crossing the equator. Mark and I lounged on the sun deck while Mary and Cindy played cribbage. It was nice to have some time on the ship to relax a bit.

Just before crossing the Equator, the captain brought everyone into the bridge to see how the ship operates and to observe crossing the equator. The ocean was churning heavily, and I started feeling uneasy, so I put a fresh scopolamine patch behind the other ear, and it seemed to kick in soon. In addition, the ocean has calmed just a little.

Blue-footed boobies

Around 4 pm, we boarded the pangas to cruise to Albemarle Point at the northern tip of Isabela. We saw a great deal of wildlife up close including blue footed boobies, sea lions, marine iguanas, black tip sharks, while tip sharks, and eagle rays. As we were leaving, we sighted whimbrel birds perched on a lava block.

We had a little time before dinner when the Willo and the crew usually do a debriefing. This evening the crew dressed up as pirates and danced around the lounge. Willo had us play a charades game to earn our certificates for crossing the equator. Each of us had to portray an animal that we saw in the Galapagos. Mary did an octopus very well and earned her certificate. My assignment was a pelican.

Mary's pelican impression

Dinner was choice of chicken or fish with rice and vegetables on the side. We sat with Meko, Lorna, John and Joan enjoying the conversation.

As we went to bed, the boat was rocking making walking around very difficult. However, the ride seemed to smooth out as we moved around Isabela Island.

Exploring Isabela Island's Urbana Bay and Tagus Cove

As usual, I woke early after sleeping well. I went to the lounge to get a drink then up on the top deck to watch for wildlife. There were many turtles around the boat, and we suspect that is because the boat had anchored, which may have broken some seaweed loose for the turtles. Breakfast at 7 am included western scrambled eggs and walnut pancakes plus fresh papaya and cantaloupe.

Galapagos tortoise near Urbina Bay

Plans for the day were modified because of heavy waves, so we boarded the pangas and rode to Urbina Bay where we saw a lot of Galapagos birds and many green sea turtles.  The bay on Isabela Island is more protected, and we hoped for a wet but easy landing.  However, exiting the pangas was an adventure since the waves were beating us and the volcanic sand on the beach was very loose. One member of our team, Sharon, had some difficulty in the landing and got very wet, perhaps damaging her expensive camera. After the wet landing, we hiked along a 1.3 kilometer trail where we saw green land iguanas, several Galápagos tortoises and some birds we hadn’t seen before. We enjoyed watching another boat of tourists have the same problems as us; it was quite entertaining.

Our team at Urbina Bay

Back at the Galaxy Yacht, we kicked our sandy shoes off and had some free time to relax. Mary, Cindy, Mark, and I sat up on the upper deck and watch several frigate birds sparring over a place to roost. It was pretty comical. Mary and Cindy also played cribbage.

Lunch was a buffet of red snapper, beef tenderloin, purple rice with walnuts, and fresh fruit. Dessert was flan. Everything was delicious as we have come to expect from the chef on the Galaxy. After lunch we took sea kayaks out in Tagus Cove. We saw several Galápagos penguins, sea turtles, blue footed boobies, flightless cormorants and nesting pelicans. We were especially pleased to have several young sea lions romp around us in the water. We laughed at their playful ways as the older sea lions basked in the sun on the lava shelves in the cove. We also saw a huge manta ray that was feeding in the cove. We were only able to see it because it was rolling in the water, and we had a good view of the white underside. That was quite a thrill.

View of Darwin Lake and Tagus Cove

We returned to the Galaxy to change clothes and prepare for a lengthy hike to Darwin Lake and Darwin’s crater. We took the pangas from the Galaxy to a dry landing spot that was covered with graffiti going back nearly 100 years. A steep path, sometimes with stairs, rose up from the cove to a cinder cone produced by recent volcanic activity on the islands. We didn’t see much wildlife on this trip, but it certainly felt good to get out for a long walk. Our group of 15 helped one another, and everyone who wanted to see the top of the ridge got up the trail. Darkness was setting in by the time we started down the path to the dock, but we did great and got in the pangas for the short ride back to the Galaxy.

Sea lion napping on a panga

After we changed clothes and cleaned up, Willo presented an interesting program on the two species of pinnipeds in the Galápagos: the Galápagos Sea Lion and the Galápagos Fur Seal. He explained that sea lions have visible ears and long front flippers. Seals have no external ears and short front appendages. The Galápagos Fur Seal is actually not a seal at all and should be called the Galápagos Fur Sea Lion. Willo went over plans for Tuesday which included a short hike on Punta Espinoza and snorkeling.

After Willo’s briefing, we went to dinner at 7:30; the appetizer was a sushi plate of thin slices of raw yellowfin tuna. For the main course, Mary had turkey with pineapple, and I had the calamari, and we both enjoyed our dinner. We sat with the three sisters who were cracking us up. After dinner we were pretty tired, so we made our way back to the cabin and were asleep very quickly.

Snorkeling in the Galapagos

I didn’t sleep especially well and was awake at 4:30, so I went to the dining area and worked on writing this journal. On my way through the lounge, I noticed someone sleeping. I didn’t know who it was, but I suspected that it was one of the three sisters. I had several cups of hot water and enjoyed the quiet. The ship had anchored near Punta Moreno on Isabela Island, and the boat seemed to be more still in the water. After a while, Beth, the youngest of the sisters work up and told me that they were considering leaving the excursion if her sisters weren’t feeling better. She and I chatted for a bit, then Mary came down for a cup of tea and joined us.

We met for breakfast in the dining area for omelets, bacon, rolls and fruit. We were very happy to see that all three of the sisters were feeling much better after a good night of sleep and calmer seas.

Sea lion basking in the sun

After breakfast, we took a ride on the Zodiac (panga) boats to the offshore rocks around Punta Moreno where we saw the tiny Galápagos penguins, sea lions, hundreds of marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, flightless cormorants, brown noddies, pelicans, and especially green sea turtles. It was a great outing although it seemed odd to us that we would have penguins so near the equator.

The sisters were all feeling better but decided to take things a little easy today until they were confident that they wouldn’t feel poorly again. However, we learned that John in our group may have lost his passport. His wife reported searching every inch of their room without success. Willo promised to call the places that we passed through between the airport and when we boarded the Galaxy ship.

Cindy & Mark prepare to snorkel

When we returned to the Galaxy, we picked up snorkeling gear and rented wetsuits for snorkeling in the Punta Moreno area. We spent about nearly an hour in the cool water, but the wetsuits helped hold body heat. While snorkeling, we saw many fish of all description, Galápagos penguins and green sea turtles up close under water. Nothing seemed to be fearful of us and swam all around it. I got near a sea lion who seemed to want to play with me. The mammal was swimming all around me as if playing a game of tag. It was a tremendous experience. Since I was busy snorkeling and looking at sea life, I didn’t take my underwater camera. However, we plan to snorkel most days, I will take the camera along on other days.

Marine iguana

We returned to the Galaxy for lunch which was included a very well-prepared ceviche with local shrimp and octopus. The main course was a buffet of chicken, fish, yellow rice, plantains and discs of ground and seasoned garbanzo beans. Everything was delicious.

We had a little free time after lunch so some of the group visited or took a nap. Because the ship was next to the largest island in the Galápagos, there was little rocking and made moving about easier. Of course, Mary & Cindy played cribbage in the lounge. During this time, the ship was traveling north along the western side of Isabela Island toward Elizabeth Bay.

At 2:45 our guide, Willo, discussed the differences in marine and land iguanas as well as a few other Galápagos animals. At 3 pm we got back on the small boats and rode into Elizabeth Bay where there were hundreds of green sea turtles. This area is very shallow is allows the turtles in the area to sleep safely among the mangroves without fear of attack by orcas or tiger sharks. We saw hundreds of pelicans, boobies, shearwaters, penguins and other birds feeding. As we went into the cove, the turtles were everywhere. We also saw a few more birds that we hadn’t seen before. We also saw a few eagle rays in the water. It was a calm and relaxing place to enjoy nature.

We returned to the Galaxy Yacht and cleaned up for dinner. Willo had a brief meeting to discuss the plans and options for Monday. After the meeting we moved into the dining room for dinner. We had a salad appetizer then choice of roast chicken or pork on a bed of bed of risotto. Mary had the chicken; I had the pork, so we exchanged half of our meats and enjoyed both. Dessert was a small cream puff made to look like an erupting volcano.