Isabela is the largest island of the Galapagos made up of five and a half volcanos with most of them still active. In the morning we set out for a hike at a place called Urbina Bay. Black sand where sea turtles nest is our landing place. We put on our shoes and we were ready to go on a loop trail heading inland and along the shore.
Other reptiles of the area are the beautiful yellow land iguanas and the lava lizards. Now they walk on a place where water used to flow and as a consequence of magma shifting from underneath, now lies higher by about 12 feet. Testimony of the event are millions of broken shells and, still better evidence, large pieces of bleached coral now with vegetation growing on or around it.
After a short hike for some groups and longer for others, we finished the morning at the beach for a cooling dip in these now temperate waters.
The ship moved to our next destination, Tagus Cove. This place was where pirates, whalers and other early visitors used to drop anchor, some to collect giant tortoises for food and others to hide or rest. Evidence of this is some graffiti carved deep into the volcanic ash.
This was a great place to enjoy water activities like kayaking and snorkeling for the area offers a wide variety of wildlife. There were penguins, cormorants, sea lions, iguanas, turtles and more. This was all seen and enjoyed either from the water, a kayak, or from the Zodiacs as several options are offered to our guest to maximize their experience. A fantastic view of the island volcanoes speaks for the magic of the place.
We were all back on board by 6 pm to celebrate another day of successful expedition.
