The Samba's new itinerary takes it past Marchena Island for a
snorkeling stop. There are no land based visitor sites, and
it's a bit out of the way - so it's an odd place to include on a
cruise itinerary… unless you're wise to the ways of
Galapagos. Juan Manuel Salcedo, one of the principle guides
on the 14 passenger Samba was instrumental in designing its new
itinerary, and he was keen on ensuring a stop here, because he
knows the place could come up with pleasant surprises.
It turns out that this very rarely visited snorkeling spot is
very rich in underwater life. Last month (Feb 2012),
during their scheduled stop here, CNH Tours guests had the
extremely rare pleasure of swimming with a pod of false killer
whales. "The guide told us we were very lucky - it
was only the 2nd time in guiding career that he had ever
seen this species". Norm Vexler, an underwater
photographer from Amherst, Massachusetts, did not hesitate and he
jumped into the sea to take some wonderful shots, a sample which is
presented with this story. For more of Norm's pictures,
see: www.faroutphotos.com
