Day 2 on board the Santa Cruz II took us to Isabela Island. After breakfast we boarded the pangas to study the coastline of the island, which is a nesting place for several of the area's unique species including the flightless cormorants, Galapagos penguins, and boobies. After that we jumped into the water to snorkel. It was freezing at 67 degrees fahrenheit! I nearly climbed back on board the panga. They had provided us with partial wetsuits, but honestly it was still so cold. I'm glad I persevered though, as it was some of the best snorkeling I have ever done. The sea life was plentiful, and I saw so many sea turtles. I had not experienced that before. Unfortunately my underwater camera decided to stop working after only a couple of photos so I didn't get much there.
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| Isabella Island morning excursion |
The panga ride back to the ship was quite chilly. Jim and I decided to hop into the hot tub on the back of the boat once we shed our wetsuits. It felt great! Then we had to shower and have lunch so we could rest up before the afternoon hike.
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| the ship had two hot tubs |
Fernandina Island was our hiking expedition in the afternoon. This was probably my favorite spot on the whole trip. There was a high concentration of marine iguanas of all different colors. The sea lions were also abundant, and a sheltered rocky cove was a perfect nursery for the sea lion babies. They put on quite a show for us! The colorful Sally Lightfoot crabs scuttled along the rocks as well, and the American Oystercatcher traversed the rocks looking for a meal. We saw another sea turtle resting on the sand, paying no attention to those of us trying to take his picture. The beautiful sunset was a perfect ending to an exceptional day.
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| Fernandina Island |
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