Isabela Island is the largest island in Galapagos, and today we explored two sites on its west coast. After breakfast we went ashore to Urbina Bay, where we had a long walk, looking for Galapagos land iguanas, land birds of different species and also the heads of white coral that were uplifted in 1954. Most of the coast where we walked was underwater, prior to the geological event in 1954 which brought the 3.3 miles of the coast up to form the new seashore. As we walked to the interior, there were many shells, sea worms still attached to the rocks, and fragments of corals all along the trail. After this walk, everyone returned to the beach to swim and to enjoy the landscape of towering volcanoes surrounding us.
At the end of the morning, we returned to the ship and started to navigate towards Tagus Cove, where we had some options to explore. The waters of this site are calm, and we went snorkeling and kayaking along the cliffs. After the water activities were over, we went ashore for a great exercise walk around Darwin’s Lake, where we climbed to the top of a hill and enjoyed a great view of some of the volcanoes of Isabela and the vast lava flows of Darwin Volcano. For our guests who preferred a more relaxing option, we went on a Zodiac ride, where we saw Galapagos penguins, flightless cormorants, green sea turtles, and we also enjoyed the impressive volcanic landscapes of Isabela Island, and finished our day with a great sunset.
