Day 5 on Xpedition: Isabela and Fernandina Islands - June 21, 2012

Trip Index

• Planning the trip and getting to Ecuador
• Quito, the Equatorial Line, dinner at Carmine
• Flying to Baltra, Day 1 on the Xpedition!
• Day 2 on Xpedition: Espanola Island
• Day 3 on Xpedition: Floreana Island
• Day 4 on Xpedition: Isabela Island
• Day 5 on Xpedition: Isabela and Fernandina Island
• Day 6 on Xpedition: South Plaza and Santa Cruz Island
• Day 7 on Xpedition: Santa Cruz
• Goodbye Galapagos and Ecuador, until we meet again
   

This morning, we weren't without some breakfast: Kaleb figured since the dining room was close by, he'd go there, put some fruit and toast on a plate, and bring it back to the room while I was getting ready. Why didn't we think of that before?


We made it to the 8am zodiac excursion and started towards Punta Vicenta Roca on Isabela Island. After a minute or so, the zodiac stopped so that we could try to catch a glimpse of a sunfish. It was so quiet and peaceful, with the ocean rather still, compared to the constant rolling in the previous days.

see that itty bitty piece of sunfish fin out there?

After the sunfish disappeared, we resumed our ride towards the cliffs.  You could see how "whitewashed" the walls were due to the birds nesting amongst the rocks.  The zodiac sailed close to the shore, allowing us a view of wildlife as well as the different textures resulting from the erosion of the volcanic island.

what a nice whitewash job by Nazca boobies

beautiful landscape

bunch of marine iguanas sunning themselves

a sea cave in the distance; a diving boat anchored nearby

sheer cliffs

a sea turtle swam alongside

a flightless coromant stretching its stunted wings

approaching the sea cave

divers getting ready to jump in

no one is allowed to sail into the cave

though it would have been cool to go in!

blue-footed boobies preening

brown noddy

sleepy sea lion

When we returned to Xpedition, the water was like glass, with the sheen of oil or quicksilver!

almost like a mirror

The 9:15am excursionists went out, and we relaxed for a bit before getting ready to go on the advanced snorkeling in the same area that we just explored.

a cup of hot chocolate before heading out again

While we were in line to get on the zodiac, I noticed that fellow cruisers Steve and Amy were wearing dive skins under their wet suits; I had forgotten we brought dive skins!  Alexis had warned everyone last night that the water temperature was going to be a bit cooler than previous snorkeling excursions.  It was definitely more brisk, a temperature I had expected the first time we went out snorkeling.  The wetsuits helped to keep warm.  David was our snorkel leader, and we went a good distance along the coast, which was great.  Unfortunately, the pictures and video taken on this excursion seemed to have gotten corrupted, so nothing to show! :(  If I can recover them, I will post them.

While we were snorkeling, we saw a small zodiac (not Xpedition's) sail into the sea cave.  This was not allowed, so one of the naturalists shouted something to the driver of the zodiac.  Later on, we heard that they were going to be reported to the authorities.

There were many sea turtles resting very still on the bottom of the sea floor...don't they have to breathe?  Sea lions swam around us.  Kaleb saw a flightless coromant catch a fish in the water, but before he could point the camera to capture the moment, the bird zoomed off using its powerful webbed feet!  Once we reached the edge of the coast, we climbed back into the zodiac and returned to Xpedition.  I regretted not wearing the dive skin as I was freezing after peeling off the wetsuit.  (it also didn't help that I was wearing a bikini)  I ran quickly back to the cabin for a nice hot shower!

Lunch today was an "Oriental buffet", which was edible (of course not as good as the food in my kitchen), but we should have gone to the grill today.   Some of our cruisemates had spotted a breaching whale while we were en route to Fernandina Island!

As our wetsuits weren't dry before the 3pm advanced snorkeling excursion, it was nice to have our dive skins underneath.  I was also glad to have packed three bathing suits, as the one from yesterday was still a bit damp, and the second one worn this morning continued to drip from the clothesline.  Manuel was our snorkeling guide on Fernandina, and we explored a bunch of rocky islets.  In some areas, the water was very shallow and I was hovering what seemed like inches above the rocks.  We were supposed to stay in one group, but Kaleb and I got sidetracked and ended up quite a bit of distance away from Manuel and our zodiac-mates.  I caught a glance of everyone hopping back on the zodiac, though it hadn't felt like we were out as long as the morning snorkel.  Kaleb and I had to swim fast against the current to reach them without too much delay, though I could feel everyone giving us the evil eye...sorry!  :(  I was pooped after that, but it was good exercise.

Some photos and videos from the 2nd snorkeling excursion:

starfish and urchins

sea turtle

sea urchins

Video of a sea turtle swimming gracefully:


Video of a marine iguana feasting on algae:


A puffer fish moseying along the rocks:


Another hot shower later, we readied ourselves for the afternoon excursion (long walk) on Punta Espinosa.  It was a dry landing, very easy to exit the zodiac.  However, as it was higher tide, the beginning of the path was inundated with water, so you either had to be very nimble and balance along the mangrove branches to get to the other side (like Kaleb), take off your shoes and walk through the shallow water (most folks), or just charge through (few folks).  I tried to walk along the branches, but in the end, slipped on the last branch and went into the water, but fortunately I was wearing water shoes.

easy landing

a shoe-carrier across the water-logged trail

It wasn't very hot today, with "garua season" clouds that dropped mist and drizzle (though none fell on us), giving us a beautiful rainbow.

Xpedition at the end of the rainbow

a marker designating the national park

a whale had washed up on shore and these were some of the bones

the terrain wasn't too difficult to walk

a Galapagos hawk keeping an eye out for food

sally lightfoot crabs

A heron roaming around:


Lava cactus were thriving.

Then we saw a Galapagos hawk up close.  It didn't bother to be stealthy like the one we saw at the top of a tree.

majestic...

...and confident to stand right next to his food (baby marine iguanas)

a whole stack of marine iguanas trying to stay warm

more sleeping sea lions

a sleeping flightless coromant...everyone's tired!

setting sun plus garua clouds = great light for interesting shots

cool ocean shot

On the way back, the tide went down, exposing the rock trail, so we were able to cross over to the landing area without getting wet.

When we returned to the ship, there were refreshments waiting.  It was definitely nice to have a cool drink and snacks available after the outing.

beer, juice, tea sandwiches and macaroons - what a combo

nice sunset

Today's cocktail of the day was Pisco Sour, which we've had before on our trip to Peru last year.  We attended the excursion briefing and followed the same routine where Kaleb signed up for the excursions (both long walks the following day) and I went to the dining room to get a good seat.  Of course, by the end of the week, people had already figured this out and all of the front tables were taken.  I ended up finding spots at the back of the dining room; fortunately France and Michel didn't mind squeezing to allow a third person to fit on the sofa side of the table so all of us could eat together (we also met Steve, Linda, and Scott).  We had great conversation, plus we revived the "Is it good...or just okay?" commentary on the food.

yellowfin tuna carpaccio, "okay"

goat cheese souffle...good

green bean soup with vegetables...good

lobster thermidor, "okay" (overcooked)

Grand Marnier souffle with sauce was "GOOD"!  strawberry ice cream was okay

Since tomorrow morning's excursion was to start at 8:30am instead of 8am (a whole 30 minutes more of sleep!), we joined everyone in celebrating the "Crossing the Equator" in the lounge.  "King Neptune" appeared, and several cruisemates (including me) were pulled out of the audience to be part of the ceremony.  Tina was selected to be Neptune's Queen, and the rest of us were subjects to do their bidding.  We were each made to imitate the various Galapagos creatures.  I got to do a rendition of a flamingo. (for the rest of the cruise, I was known as the "flamingo lady")  We were also made to drink a shot of iguana blood. (which was really blackberry juice)

King Neptune (aka Manuel)

A video of me doing the flamingo:

downing a shot of "iguana blood"

finale

At the end of the night, when we returned to our staterooms, in addition to chocolates, there was a certificate laid on the bed for each of us, signed by the captain, proclaiming that we had crossed the Equatorial Line.

During the night, Xpedition sailed fast from Fernandina to Santa Cruz as it was a long distance.  The bathroom and shower doors had to be shut and the clothes hangers pressed to one side in the closets to keep them from swaying.  I also felt like I was being tossed up and down in bed.  I didn't sleep very much, but Kaleb slept like a baby!

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