Overnight the Silver Origin sailed to Fernandina, the western-most island of the Galapagos. “Western most” means youngest, because similar to Hawaii that is where the hot spot is for volcano and island creation. In addition, that is where the cold, deep Pacific current comes into the Galapagos. So, Fernandina is the prime spot of sea life. The island is so dynamic there are no established trails, therefore the plan is to explore the coast line while staying in the Zodiacs. We anchored on Punta Mangle, which is “Mangrove Point” in English. We saw no mangroves to start with. It was like the beaches of Mordor. The entire shore is lava rock.
But there were many Blue-Footed Booby there, waiting for the tide to change.
It was our first time seeing the Galapagos Penguin. But just barely – seems it was penguin feeding time while the Boobies were resting. The best picture I took was just the penguin’s head in the water.
Like the penguins, there were Green Sea Turtles feeding. They barely put their heads above water. Sometime they swam beneath the Zodiac and the water was clear enough to see them. But with 10 other people in the boat, it’s not always easy to frame the shot.
I hope to get better photos of both in the coming days.
If the previous islands were known for birds, then Fernandina is the “Island of Iguana”.
New to the cruise is the Flightless Cormorant. We caught a male bringing seaweed for the nest. Our guide spotted some nylon fishing line in their nest. After hatching and the cormorants leave the area the naturalists will arrive to remove the line.
Other new birds were the Striated Heron and Galapagos Hawk. The hawk never got close, so I am straining my lens to get such a small picture. The American Oyster Catcher was right on the edge of the water.
We entered a small alcove to see the crabs and iguana when we found two adolescent sea lions. They were very curious and flopped and twisted around the boat, following us for 15 minutes.
I think it’s bonkers how so red a crab like the Sally Lightfoot can survive against such a black background.
Despite the name of our stop, there were not many mangroves here. However, there is the occasional plant. Our guide called them “pioneer plants”, as they were the first to grow after the lava cooled. Five years from now who knows how it will look?
Lastly you may have seen a ship in the background of the penguin picture. She is the “Sierra Negra”, which is run by the Galapagos Park Service. Our guide had worked on her many times doing things such as wildlife surveys and the like.
After lunch it is more of the same, but on the island next door.