Our expedition on board the National Geographic Endeavour continues today. Our activities started early in the morning at sunrise, we enjoyed a nice cool breeze and volcanic scenery while navigating the western part of the Galápagos National Park. Today we visited the two geologically youngest islands with the most active volcanoes in the western realms of the archipelago.
Not many ships are fortunate enough to come this far west to visit one of the most pristine places on earth. The whole day we had seven different shield volcanoes surrounding us at all times, six from Isabela Island and one from Fernandina. The activities organized at these two sites were comprised of marine observation from the outer decks, a nature hike, deep water snorkeling, Zodiac riding, and the Equator crossing.
What a way to begin the day, a big pod of common dolphins delighted us as we were doing marine observation from the outer decks. Later in the morning a nature walk at Fernandina Island took us along a coastal ecosystem full of life. We spotted hundreds of marine iguanas sun bathing, flightless cormorants, sea lions and a couple of hawks.
The afternoon was also very special for everyone, because for the first time during our expedition we encountered penguins. Our guests were surrounded by green sea turtles while snorkeling, rays and big schools of fish. It is hard to describe the wonders of this paradise, every single minute is full of surprises.
Our day came to an end with a wonderful cocktail as we officially crossed the Equator line aboard. We look forward to tomorrow.
