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Crossing the Equator at Isabela Island

Tuesday, March 25, found us with an early morning wake-up call at 6:00 AM so that we could view a huge monolith of a rock called Roca Redonda (Round Rock). During the night we had sailed far to the north around and past the northern tip of Isabela Island. There sits the Roca Redonda. It is actually a small piece of a huge volcano that existed here thousands of years ago. We are now at the westernmost realm of the Galapagos. It is frequently foggy here, but we were fortunate to have sunny and clear weather. After breakfast we were all hustled out to the outdoor deck at the stern of the ship (the Teak deck) where we were going to celebrate our crossing the Equator. Kids especially were told to be out there. King Neptune and some of his pirate friends surprised us all by squirting water. King Neptune invited the kids to kiss his little octopus that he had in a dish. Everybody got a certificate from Neptunus Rex proclaiming us to be recognized as a baptized "Galápagos Shellback" since we had cruised the prehistoric world of Darwin's Galápagos Islands, Land of the Origin of Species. After all the ceremonies we cruised along the eroded caldera Volcan Ecuador, a soaring shield volcano on Isabela Island. This island has a volcano that is still active, having erupted last in October of 2005. Of course we were all hoping to see a spectacular eruption, but it didn't happen. We took zodiac boats out to ride along the cliffs of Punta Vicente Roca and then did some more snorkeling.

Fernandina Island and Punta Espinosa

In the afternoon we sailed a short distance south to a point on Fernandina Island called Punta Espinosa. This island is the youngest and most active volcano in the archipelago. It erupts every few years (last in May 2005), and the flanks of the volcano are covered with fresh lava flows. To see it up close, we took the zodiacs and disembarked over a dry lava flow. It truly looked like a moonscape, except with mangroves. The walking there was beautiful as we went over the shoreline over slabs of "ropy" lava. Here and there were stretches of sand with sea lions and marine iguana basking in the sun. We also saw flightless cormorants, penguins (small ones and very fast), herons and sea turtles.

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