ECUADOR, GALAPAGOS ISLANDS: FERNANDINA ISLAND - ESPINOZA POINT

 March 23, 2022, Afternoon

The last expedition of the day was a walking excursion on Fernandina Island, an island next to Isabela Island, where we had spent the morning and the previous day. Our naturalist guide Fernanda told us Fernandina is her favorite island in the Galapagos, and not just because of the similarity to her name. She was excited to show it to us.

With the good omen of a rainbow behind us, we set out in the pangas for a dry docking on Fernandina Island. Our two-hour visit there may be our favorite experience of the entire Galapagos trip, and possibly one of our favorite travel experiences of all time.

We disembarked directly from the panga onto a short length of concrete that acted like a pier. We were the second panga in, and we wondered what everyone from the first panga was taking pictures of. When we got to that spot, we saw this green marine iguana crawling out of the water.

When we were only about 10 yards farther down the trail, we started hearing gasps from those in front of us, and when we could  see what they were looking at, we gasped too. A clearing was jam-packed with completely motionless marine iguanas--hundreds of them--some unceremoniously stacked on top of others, and they didn't even bother to acknowledge our presence. 

They were everywhere there was exposed ground. What an incredible sight.

The trail took us out onto a lava field.

At first the area looked barren, but then we saw more of the local inhabitants, still unmoving, as if they were part of the rope-like lava formations, burned in place like the bodies in the Pompeii eruptions.

According to Wikipedia, 2/5 of all marine iguanas in the world live on Fernandina Island, with estimates of the population ranging from 15,000 to 120,000. I think I would go with the higher number.  And by the way, I was happy NOT to be snorkeling off this coastline with these prehistoric creatures as my companions.

We were there! We really were!

Out on the rocks we saw a sleeping Galapagos sea lion, one fin raised like a sail on a ship.

Further along, we came across a mother nursing her big baby:

Whatever you do, don't roll over!!!

These three sea lions were very, very loud.

Bob caught these great photos.

Besides marine iguanas and Galapagos sea lions, there were also thousands of Sally Lightfoot crabs. These photos look like different species or subspecies, but I think they are all the same species.

They were everywhere. It made me think of the Hitchcock movie The Birds.

More and more and more iguanas! They blend in so well with the rock that sometimes we didn't notice them until we were upon them.

On the  other hand, we stand out against the iguana-laden background.

Even when they didn't blend in, there were Just. So. Many.

When we dared to look away from the path (and take the risk of trodding on an iguana), this is what we saw. Fernanda told us one of her favorite things about the island is all the color. We could see what she meant.

Speaking of color, here is one animal on the island that, like the crabs, didn't blend in at all: the yellow warbler, a migratory species found in other places besides the Galapagos Islands.

Here is another, non-endemic creature that stood out. 

The beach where we had landed was ground lava, but on this side of the bay the beach was covered in tiny seashells.

I would love to have taken this larger shell home, but I didn't want to get arrested. I didn't even dare to take a piece of lava.

The seals and the crabs seem to get along just fine.

The seals are restless sleepers, at least this one was, and maybe that keeps the crabs away.

More often than not, the seals chose beds far away from the crabs.

The iguanas get along with the iguanas:

And sometimes we even saw a crab trying to cozy up to an iguana . . .

. . . but the iguana would have none of that.

Fernandina Island even has its own endemic cactus named (what else?) Fernandina Lava Cactus.

On our way back to our pangas, we ran across this skull.

. . . and this spine. 

. . . and this sunset.

Dinner was a chopped salad, calamari, and yucca fries. All delicious.

Before I went to bed that night, I wrote this in my journal: Today was the most incredible animal experience I've ever had, including Africa. At one point Bob exclaimed "This is the best place I've ever been!" He uses the words "jaw-dropping" to describe it. Everyone took LOTS of photos. It was impossible not to.