Today we visited the largest of the Enchanted Islands, the sea-horse shaped island called Isabela. We had a wet landing at Urbina Bay, named after an Ecuadorian president.
This morning’s hike followed a loop trail to the inner part of the island inhabited by yellow dragons (land iguanas). Right at the beginning we encountered many species of Darwin finches and yellow warblers. We also saw some small tortoises from the nearby Alcedo Volcano population. These tortoises spend their first years of life here before finding their way to the summit and then returning once again to nest if they are females looking for soft, warm terrain.
It’s interesting to know that these reptiles inhabit a place that was once the ocean floor! The best evidence of this are the millions of broken shells and large pieces of bleached coral, now with vegetation growing on or around it. After the hike we jumped into the water for a refreshing swim.
The ship then navigated to our next destination, Tagus Cove, which offers a wide variety of wildlife like penguins, cormorants, sea lions, iguanas, turtles and more. This makes it a great place to enjoy water activities, like kayaking, snorkeling and Zodiac rides. Long ago, pirates, whalers and other early visitors used to drop anchor at Tagus Cove. Some came for giant tortoises to use for meat and others just for the tranquility of its waters. These visitors left graffiti carved deep in the volcanic ash.
After a great day, we headed back to the National Geographic Islander as the sun set and the sky caught fire.
