Day 7 Thursday: Ferdinandina

 Fernandina (Narborough) Island – The name was given in honor of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus. Fernandina has an area of 642 square km (248 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 1,494 m (4,902 ft). This is the youngest and westernmost island. On 13 May 2005, a new, very eruptive process began on this island, when an ash and water vapor cloud rose to a height of 7 km (23,000 ft) and lava flows descended the slopes of the volcano on the way to the sea. Punta Espinosa is a narrow stretch of land where hundreds of marine iguanas gather, largely on black lava rocks. The famous Flightless Cormorants inhabit this island, as do Galápagos Penguins, pelicans, Galápagos sea lions and Galápagos fur seals. Different types of lava flows can be compared, and the mangrove forests can be observed.

Photos from Ferdinandina (a lot of marine iguanas) and some more shots of the amazing frigate birds are here.

The afternoon excursion was a zodiac rides near the cliffs at Punta Vicente Roca, Isabela. While the ride was fun and interesting, photographically, it was a bust. The sea was quite choppy and we were sailing mostly in the shadow of the cliffs, so I couldn’t get a fast enough shutter speed or a steady enough camera to take anything worth showing. There could have been some lovely shots of a pair of flightless cormorants doing a mating dance in the water, and some nesting terns and blue-footed boobies, but there weren’t.

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