There is just nothing that compares to travelling in the western waters of the archipelago. Some days can dawn quiet and serene, perhaps even foggy or misty. The next day can be blustery and spiked with deep-sea feelings. Today opened with clear skies and still waters. At 5:45 am the thermometer read 64 degrees Fahrenheit, but warmed up to the low seventies within an hour or so. The waters around "the rock" were amazingly clear. Amazing because with the chill water temperatures we have been reading over the past few months, and the feeding activity in the marine environment, one would expect the high plankton growth to result in a pea-green sea. But it was clear as clear can be.
Very early common dolphins were seen in the far distance, over five hundred at least, but they never approached us more closely, and continued on their course with purpose and haste. Bottle-nosed dolphins later escorted us briefly a couple of times as we circumnavigated the remnant of volcanic material sitting isolated off the northern coast of Isabela Island. Hundreds of sea birds flew, whistled, honked, quacked and clicked while circling out from the cliff-face. From early on we had spotted sea lions out at sea, either arriving from, or setting out on fishing expeditions. Some were definitely the Galapagos fur seals, looking like small, brown, hairy footballs (as Vanessa and Dana said) as they hurtled through the air and water, making good time for whatever reason on their own agenda ("porpoising" it's called). Others, the Galapagos (California) sea-lion more familiar to most of us, lazed through their morning by dozing on the surface with two or more flippers out of the water (angle them well towards the rising sun, and they function a bit like solar panels). Later in the morning a couple Bryde's whales put in a short appearance, a few good looks, but very sporadic sightings. One, however, allowed us a look at an individual we had seen the week before, recognizable only because it had a dorsal fin in the shape of a crochet hook, so different does it seem.
I wake in the mornings with great anticipation, and unbelievably, every day continues to bring something new; it could be a new species I have never seen, a behavior I have never witnessed, or a composition and setting I have never seen. Endless configurations are possible here.
