Espinoza Point--Fernandina Island
--Marine Iguanas, and More Marine Iguanas
--It's all about Marine Iguanas !
we arrived at Fernandina Island, it is the western-most and youngest of the Galapagos Islands .... only 700,000 years old :) Fernandina is considered the most pristine of the Galápagos Islands because it has had no species of mammals introduced, which sets it apart from most of the other islands in the archipelago. Fernandina has an area of 250 miles and a height of 4,800 feet. ... if you zoom out on the map below, you will see that it has one huge crater, 4 miles wide.
interactive map ...
View Isabela Island & Fernandina Island in a larger map
at 12:30 we left for our second snorkel excursion .... this time we were looking for Marine Iguanas that were IN the sea ... eating algae. ... right out of the dingy, this is the first one i saw one hanging on to a rock eating away ....
it was a good exciting snorkel, but a lot of work again. the good part, is that when you're working that hard, you don't get so cold ... the water here is definitely colder!
the waves were so strong, and it was difficult to hold the camera still enough to get any photos .... luckily Washington was wearing a weight belt and can hold is breath way longer than i can .... most of these next photos are his ....
they are able to stay submerged for up to an hour ....
this looks like me, shooting up to the surface, out of air :) ...
those powerful claws come in handy for holding on to the rocks ....
we also saw more Harlequin Wrasse, ... in white this time ... another fish with a 'bump' on it's head .... what does Darwin say about that ? ...
the younger ones have a more pointed nose and less of a 'bump' ...
we saw some turtles and a few Sea Lions too ....
but the most amazing thing was watching these Marine Iguanas eating ....
it was fascinating ....
this is me trying to take a photo of one ...
they have lots of sharp tiny teeth ....
it was amazing to watch how strong and powerful they are .... maneuvering in the current, waves, and surges ... they are amazing swimmers .... using only their tail ...
some of this video is mine, some is Washington's .... about half way, the Iguana is swimming, and you can see how even IT struggles with the currents ... actually using it's front feet ... then grabbing and hanging onto rocks as he goes along ...
close to the shore, i popped my head out of the water .... they lose 10degrees of body temp when they dive to eat ... so they have to get really warm before they even go in the water to eat ...
look closely and you can see how they are lined up on the black rocks ...
and .... i saw a large Spotted Eagle Ray !!!!!! right at the end of our snorkel :)
***
back on the boat we had 20min again, .... to shower, change and be ready for a hike on Fernandina Island .....
at 2pm we made a 'dry landing' on this dock .... having to disturb another Sea Lion :( ....
then we had a little bit of fun watching these 2 Lava Lizards do their 'dance' at our feet .... comical !
video here ..
we walked through some mangroves and onto the lava shore ...
i know i've reported and shown photos of a LOT of Marine Iguanas, ...twice before ... but those were nothing compared to the THOUSANDS we saw today ....
they were everywhere on the rocks along the shoreline ...
this guy .... a true 'sun worshiper' ... i can relate ! .....
incredible there were really so many Iguanas here ....
fascinating 'hands' ....
and 'feet' ...
here there were more Iguanas, soaking up the last bit of sun of the day from the heat of the black rocks .... you have to look really carefully because they look just like the rocks .....
they look so prehistoric ...
several of us, who were not worried about getting our shoes wet, and/or stranded, .... walked out onto a small lava shelf peninsula (after Washington walked out there first :), ....
it was getting late and the tide was coming in ... and beginning to wash over the rocks ... and 'gush' over them ! ...
and the iguanas knew it was time to head for shore for the night. to regulate their body temperatures, they have to soak up as much sun as possible during the day, and then huddle together at night to keep warm.
.... little by little, they slowly slid into the water and swam for shore .... it was interesting to watch ....
this video is kind of a summary .... and it is a little longer, ... 4min ...
--the first 40sec is a continuous 'sweep' of 2 areas, my attempt to give you an idea of just how many Marine Iguanas are here!!!!!
--the next part is out on the small peninsula, with more Iguanas, showing the tide coming in, which starts a mass exodus to higher and drier ground for the night ...
--then showing the Sally Lightfoot Crabs, who have a special relationship with the Marine Iguanas ... they rid them of bugs and eat their dead skin as they shed it ... they welcome their climbing over them...
--in the last 6sec ... , i know your eye will be drawn to the red crab ....(that is actually what i was filming) ... but keep your eyes on the Iguana that the crab is crawling on; ..... i've mentioned before that Marine Iguanas ingest sea salt while they are eating, ... they must be able to rid their bodies of it or they will become dehydrated ... they have a gland that collects the salt and then they 'sneeze' it out their nose ... watch the Iguana in this video and you will see him do that ..... (i didn't notice this until i watched the video myself) ....
there were a few Sea Lions in the water, and some cuddling and soaking up the last sun of the day ...
and a few cactus growing ... as we walked along the lava field ...
so many signs of life, and also signs of the reality of the harshness of these Islands ...
at 4pm we headed back to the boat ....
watched the sunset, and headed out to round the northern edge of Isabela Island ... on our way to Santiago Island ...
at 6:45pm, Washington came into the dining room and told us were were crossing the Equator if we wanted to go to the Capt Deck and see it on the GPS ....
this was actually the 3rd time we'd crossed the Equator ... the first time was on the way to Genovesa; and the second time on the way back from Genovesa (but we were asleep for those). ...and, we will actually cross it again tonight while we are asleep.
GREAT action-packed day !
No comments:
Post a Comment