Urvina Bay & Punta Moreno
The moon was still shinning when the sun rose at six in the morning. Hundred of sea birds were wandering here and there making their early catches of fish. Windy as it could be, we were expecting a difficult landing at Urvina bay. However, Mother Nature was benevolent and not only was the landing easy, but we were also given a spectacular arrangement on the uplifted trail when several stunning yellow-orange land iguanas posed while we passed near by. Melodious musical compositions by master mockingbirds accompanied us during our visit and the equatorial sun embraced all with a powerful luminous mantle. Time is passing slowly here and nature displays her enchantments.
After a good hike, a refreshing dip in the ocean is more than welcome especially when a school of spotted eagle rays swims around the bathers under the supervision of a couple of flightless cormorants.
In the afternoon while visiting Punta Moreno on the lower slope of Cerro Azul volcano – the south eastern most of all – we were overwhelmed by the extensive lava field that unites this one with Sierra Negra volcano. In the middle of the field there are some oases formed by the subsidence of lava and filled with brackish water, filtered from the ocean. Here we found a few flamingos and several moorhens frolicking together among the green branches of the poison apple trees and the stalks of the endemic sedge that grow in the water.
In the meantime, part of our group was having fun doing a Zodiac ride among the extrusions of lava that enter the ocean. Mangrove trees and cactae, penguins and boobies, mullets and rays all surrounded the riders.
A “fabuloso” day! Galápagos never stops to amaze its visitors.
The moon was still shinning when the sun rose at six in the morning. Hundred of sea birds were wandering here and there making their early catches of fish. Windy as it could be, we were expecting a difficult landing at Urvina bay. However, Mother Nature was benevolent and not only was the landing easy, but we were also given a spectacular arrangement on the uplifted trail when several stunning yellow-orange land iguanas posed while we passed near by. Melodious musical compositions by master mockingbirds accompanied us during our visit and the equatorial sun embraced all with a powerful luminous mantle. Time is passing slowly here and nature displays her enchantments.
After a good hike, a refreshing dip in the ocean is more than welcome especially when a school of spotted eagle rays swims around the bathers under the supervision of a couple of flightless cormorants.
In the afternoon while visiting Punta Moreno on the lower slope of Cerro Azul volcano – the south eastern most of all – we were overwhelmed by the extensive lava field that unites this one with Sierra Negra volcano. In the middle of the field there are some oases formed by the subsidence of lava and filled with brackish water, filtered from the ocean. Here we found a few flamingos and several moorhens frolicking together among the green branches of the poison apple trees and the stalks of the endemic sedge that grow in the water.
In the meantime, part of our group was having fun doing a Zodiac ride among the extrusions of lava that enter the ocean. Mangrove trees and cactae, penguins and boobies, mullets and rays all surrounded the riders.
A “fabuloso” day! Galápagos never stops to amaze its visitors.
