Isabela Island
We started our day surrounded by huge shield volcanoes located in the western area of the Galápagos. Our first outing of the day was at Urbina Bay; after landing, we started a challenging hike along the rocky coast of this site. During our walk we learned that an unusual event happened at Urbina. A massive uplift of the seabed occurred in 1954; about one square kilometer ended up out of the water, leaving many marine organisms, such as huge coral heads and tubeworms, on land. It was an unbelievable experience to observe how nowadays the coral is surrounded by very dense vegetation that includes yellow cordia trees, poison apple trees, and one of my favorite flowers of the Galápagos, the Galápagos cotton flower.
Along the trail we spotted several bright yellow land iguanas and five giant tortoises from Alcedo Volcano. There were many land birds, such as ground finches, flycatchers and mockingbirds singing and flying over the trail. With a hot morning, clear sky and the great company of our friendly guests we ended the visit with a refreshing swim at the same beach where we had disembarked earlier.
In the afternoon we continued with our activities, which were kayaking and snorkeling at Tagus Cove. The conditions were very pleasant, with calm, warm waters. There were penguins on the rocks and flightless cormorants diving in the bay. Snorkelers discovered that the sea turtles were feeding on the algae and penguins were going fast after some small fishes; it was a great experience.
Later on we did a fast hike to the viewpoint at Tagus Cove. On our way to the summit we took some great photos of the landscape that includes Darwin’s Lake and Tagus Cove. At the top the scenery was overwhelming. The sun was setting behind Fernandina Island, painting the sky with colors that our guests will never forget. As we walked back to the ship we realized how lucky we were to experience this magical place with all it inhabitants.
