Isabela Island
When we woke up this morning, little did we know about the excitement that this day would bring to us. But as soon as we stepped onto the outside corridors, we certainly knew!
The sky was bright, just as if the sun wanted to greet us as we got closer to the western side of this enchanted archipelago. The volcanoes were surrounding us, imposing their omnipotent presence to us mortals. All we could do was admire the vast ocean bathing the coastline with powerful waves, carving and re-shaping the entire master plan. The volcanoes with their apparent omnipotence would admit defeat with time, and entire masses of land would collapse to be unified with the ocean, the same ocean that would eat greedily anything that falls into their open arms…
Who knows how long ago it was when the Ecuador Volcano succumbed to the ocean’s power and collapsed into the sea on an unimaginable display of power. It was only during our Zodiac ride that we could fully understand the magnificence of this giant dormant. Cruising along the coastline we admired its unconquerable hills, full of soft cinder and partly compacted ash, ready to reject any attempt of defeat. Many animals had tried to climb its hills in their continued attempt to find new nesting grounds, only to meet their unfortunate destiny on the rocks down below.
It was precisely during our Zodiac ride that our lives merged with the top predator of the seas, Orca whales! There she blows! That was the unified sound that filled the air, then a second and then a third and suddenly, we were seeing an entire pod of orca whales riding alongside our Zodiacs. It would be hard to describe the feeling when seeing a thirty foot animal weighting nine tons pop right up along side your Zodiac, and yet it seems so easy to find superlatives for it. The air was filled with a special combination of sea spray and fish oil, which led us to believe that the animals were hunting. It wasn't long until some of us understood the most famous phrases used in natural science, “top predator and the survival of the fittest.” The whales were indeed eating giant sunfishes, as we could clearly see one of them being chewed and swallowed by the alpha male.
We returned to the ship quietly, just because our voices were gone with the whales that we left behind. I took a moment to look at everyone’s faces and believe it or not, that is for me the most difficult part to describe. The Zodiacs were full of bodies, but they were all empty…their minds were who knows were. Maybe each one of the guests had decided to continue a mental journey with these amazing creatures. As for me, I couldn’t help but surrender. Submerged in my thoughts, I joined the journey with the rest of the guests…
When we woke up this morning, little did we know about the excitement that this day would bring to us. But as soon as we stepped onto the outside corridors, we certainly knew!
The sky was bright, just as if the sun wanted to greet us as we got closer to the western side of this enchanted archipelago. The volcanoes were surrounding us, imposing their omnipotent presence to us mortals. All we could do was admire the vast ocean bathing the coastline with powerful waves, carving and re-shaping the entire master plan. The volcanoes with their apparent omnipotence would admit defeat with time, and entire masses of land would collapse to be unified with the ocean, the same ocean that would eat greedily anything that falls into their open arms…
Who knows how long ago it was when the Ecuador Volcano succumbed to the ocean’s power and collapsed into the sea on an unimaginable display of power. It was only during our Zodiac ride that we could fully understand the magnificence of this giant dormant. Cruising along the coastline we admired its unconquerable hills, full of soft cinder and partly compacted ash, ready to reject any attempt of defeat. Many animals had tried to climb its hills in their continued attempt to find new nesting grounds, only to meet their unfortunate destiny on the rocks down below.
It was precisely during our Zodiac ride that our lives merged with the top predator of the seas, Orca whales! There she blows! That was the unified sound that filled the air, then a second and then a third and suddenly, we were seeing an entire pod of orca whales riding alongside our Zodiacs. It would be hard to describe the feeling when seeing a thirty foot animal weighting nine tons pop right up along side your Zodiac, and yet it seems so easy to find superlatives for it. The air was filled with a special combination of sea spray and fish oil, which led us to believe that the animals were hunting. It wasn't long until some of us understood the most famous phrases used in natural science, “top predator and the survival of the fittest.” The whales were indeed eating giant sunfishes, as we could clearly see one of them being chewed and swallowed by the alpha male.
We returned to the ship quietly, just because our voices were gone with the whales that we left behind. I took a moment to look at everyone’s faces and believe it or not, that is for me the most difficult part to describe. The Zodiacs were full of bodies, but they were all empty…their minds were who knows were. Maybe each one of the guests had decided to continue a mental journey with these amazing creatures. As for me, I couldn’t help but surrender. Submerged in my thoughts, I joined the journey with the rest of the guests…
