Urbina Bay & Tagus Cove (Isabela Island)
Isabela is the largest of the enchanted islands and holds a wide variety of landscapes and endemic species to share with our adventurous Galápagos guests. Today we went to explore an underwater world that rose above sea level over time to create a big habitat for giants and dragons.
About a square mile of the coast of Urbina Bay was uplifted by tectonic movement in 1954 and every specie and coralline landscape remains fossilized or encrusted on the sharp basaltic lava that once upon a time was part of the ocean floor. What amazes me the most is that it did not take that long for species to establish in this area and create their own habitat; species like the Galápagos land iguanas, using the soft and sandy ground as their nesting area.
The giants that can live hundreds of years are grazing the green shrubs and grasses during this season of the year, as plants established very fast on the uplifted area, allowing the Galápagos giant tortoises to take a niche in this new ecosystem. We could see how life appears again on land, as the ocean life that before was living here had been replace by big land reptiles and plants.
The top land predator of the Galápagos was also seen patrolling the area in search for prey—an elegant Galápagos hawk was standing on the peaks of lava as we returned from our hike along the coast of Isabela.
The afternoon light and breeze invited us to explore a place well known by Galápagos sailors, a calm water bay known as Tagus Cove. The graffiti on the titanic walls announced to us the memories of the early visitors and sailors who were looking for shelter and taking a break from the rough ocean; this cove certainly offered peace and a place to collect giant tortoises as food for their long navigations. Charles Darwin himself describes climbing those hills in search for fresh water, unfortunately the lake he found in the middle of a volcanic crater was full of very salty water. The lake has held his name ever since, and today we followed in Darwin footsteps enjoying a great view of Darwin Lake at Tagus Cove.
The peaceful waters of Tagus Cove were also well received by many endemic species of these islands, many of them underwater; us snorkelers decided to explore the ocean and its wonders. During the snorkeling we had the opportunity to enjoy swimming with Galápagos penguins, flightless cormorants, many sea turtles, and a wide variety of fish feeding in these very plankton-productive waters.
We certainly took seriously the fact that we are exploring the islands in 360°—every corner of this place was explored—not only on land or under the water, but also on the surface of the ocean and near the coastline on our kayaks we decided to enjoy the paddling with penguins and turtles.
Another jewel in the crown of the enchanted archipelago was explored today; another breathtaking day led the expedition to continue on our adventure, exploring “the islands that changed the world…”
