Every single time I come to this area, I am impressed by the incredible sight at Punta Vicente Roca. I'm in awe of nature, how it can create these magnificent, dramatic cliff sides and on top make it so colorful! After we cruised with Polaris by the bisected caldera of Volcano Ecuador, we went along the coastline with our Zodiacs to admire from close range the different geological formations. To make it even more dramatic today we had quite a swell washing up on the rocks and creating a huge difference in waterlevel close by shore. Hypnotizing to watch it! The tall walls of Volcano Ecuador become even more impressive once you see our Zodiacs in front of them and one realizes how high and steep they are. Most of the material of these walls is cinder, giving it a reddish color, many times transected by black lines of basalt lava called the vertical diques. These come from later eruptions where the magma sought a way through the weaker spots, filling up the fissures. Just at the south point of this area is a yellowish-brown tuff cone with a large cave carved deep in the softer stone. The meeting of the tuff cone with the basalt part of Volcano Ecuador is spectacular, showing us the contrast of colors.
Suddenly we had a unexpected event: a feral cat was spotted. At recap it actually turned out to be the third cat observed! It went along the shoreline close by the steep cliff sides and we saw it suddenly running to grab a young marine iguana. The cat then took it to a tiny cave to have its meal. Feral cats are only a tiny part of the many introduced species in Galapagos and relatively they do not form that serious a threat to the native species. Nevertheless, in areas, as here, where penguins also nest, they have to be monitored to prevent attacks on the low population of endemic penguins (estimated to be 1200 individuals). The National Park has many more urgent projects before they can deal with the feral cats on Isabela. With our Galapagos Conservation Fund, founded by Sven Lindblad, we very actively cooperate with the Park and the Charles Darwin Research Station in order to restore the islands to their original pristine conditions.
