 |
 |
| We went for a panga ride along the coast of Isabela, the largest of the islands, and made our way into this idyllic little backwater. The naturalists got a good workout rowing. | Clearly there was something
there in the water, although no one was recommending that Joop actually
jump in. |
 |
 |
"There! There!"
|
It was a whole family of spotted rays. There were white-tipped reef sharks as well. For the non-snorkelers, it was as close as we would come to the marine life. |
 |
 |
| Even the trees were full of life. This one had a large number of sally lightfoot crabs, which we were more accustomed to seeing on rocks near the beaches. | And, of course, there
were shorebirds, like this whimbrel that preferred a tree to the shore. |
 |
 |
One last penguin poked his head up to see us.
|
Fernandina Island was home to large colonies of marine iguanas, smaller and less colorful than the ones on Espanola, but present in much greater numbers. |
 |
 |
| The males were competing for females and we saw a fight between two rival males, along with a lot of head-bobbing and other threats. | Frankly, I wouldn't want to tangle with them.
|
 |
 |
| Fernandina is also home to the flightless cormorant, the only species of cormorant to have given up flight for swimming. | On a hike over the island, Mario demonstrated a natural glue on Caroline. |
 |
 |
| We also saw land iguanas, much larger and more colorful than the marine iguanas. | They were indifferent to our presence, but no one felt an impulse to pet them. |
| Previous |