Isabela Island
Early in the morning we sailed to Isabela; we were anchored all night next to Fernandina Island and so we had a great night of sleep.
After breakfast we started our walks at Urbina Bay; this place is surreal and it has many surprises for us. At first long walkers started a 2.5 mile walk of fun and endurance, we have the equatorial sun and a difficult trail to follow, for many an exiting experience, then the short walkers followed with a more leisurely pace during a 1 mile walk over this terrain. We were all greeted by a highlight: land iguanas in their natural state. Urbina is famous because this platform was underwater unti 1954 when a magma pressure rose the sea-floor and revealed it for us; coral heads and crustaceans were exposed to our astonishment, also plants as early colonizers and birds of different kinds, even an unexpected surprise for some of our guests, a giant tortoise to their delight. Big waves make the embarkation here demanding but fun – this is no cruise, instead an expedition, with procedures and professionalism we all earned our baptized name “shellbacks”. Life will never be the same, we now belong to this place.
All were brought safely back onboard and our Captain Carlos Garcia gave us authorization to start Zodiac driving classes for our younger guests. Malcolm, Hannah and Edward earned their licenses today; their little humble smiles brought a spark into our hearts and we felt their joy as ours.
The afternoon takes us to another planet: dark lava flows as far as the eye could see, miles and miles of an apparent desert. As we walked, we reached an oasis of life; a few pockets which collapsed years ago were fed by tunnels connecting to the ocean. In these sink holes were found green plants, insects, finches, warblers and finally another surprise, 5 pink flamingoes, all bathed in perfect sunlight and with a massive volcano acting as the background.
Meanwhile some of our guests opted to ride the Zodiacs as we discovered turtles, sea lions, iguanas, cormorants and penguins, all coexisting. This tranquility and contagious solitude made us wonder about this dream world call Galápagos.
Our guests are so excited you can hardly hear the engines while navigating. We played a round of Geo-Bee for fun. There is laughter and joy, there is respect from one another, there is coexistence. We are one, one with nature as we once were. My dear reader there is no media possible which could convey the magic this place has, only when here can you feel and understand.
Our expedition has reached it peek and so we continued to more wonderful places and adventures they will never forget.
Early in the morning we sailed to Isabela; we were anchored all night next to Fernandina Island and so we had a great night of sleep.
After breakfast we started our walks at Urbina Bay; this place is surreal and it has many surprises for us. At first long walkers started a 2.5 mile walk of fun and endurance, we have the equatorial sun and a difficult trail to follow, for many an exiting experience, then the short walkers followed with a more leisurely pace during a 1 mile walk over this terrain. We were all greeted by a highlight: land iguanas in their natural state. Urbina is famous because this platform was underwater unti 1954 when a magma pressure rose the sea-floor and revealed it for us; coral heads and crustaceans were exposed to our astonishment, also plants as early colonizers and birds of different kinds, even an unexpected surprise for some of our guests, a giant tortoise to their delight. Big waves make the embarkation here demanding but fun – this is no cruise, instead an expedition, with procedures and professionalism we all earned our baptized name “shellbacks”. Life will never be the same, we now belong to this place.
All were brought safely back onboard and our Captain Carlos Garcia gave us authorization to start Zodiac driving classes for our younger guests. Malcolm, Hannah and Edward earned their licenses today; their little humble smiles brought a spark into our hearts and we felt their joy as ours.
The afternoon takes us to another planet: dark lava flows as far as the eye could see, miles and miles of an apparent desert. As we walked, we reached an oasis of life; a few pockets which collapsed years ago were fed by tunnels connecting to the ocean. In these sink holes were found green plants, insects, finches, warblers and finally another surprise, 5 pink flamingoes, all bathed in perfect sunlight and with a massive volcano acting as the background.
Meanwhile some of our guests opted to ride the Zodiacs as we discovered turtles, sea lions, iguanas, cormorants and penguins, all coexisting. This tranquility and contagious solitude made us wonder about this dream world call Galápagos.
Our guests are so excited you can hardly hear the engines while navigating. We played a round of Geo-Bee for fun. There is laughter and joy, there is respect from one another, there is coexistence. We are one, one with nature as we once were. My dear reader there is no media possible which could convey the magic this place has, only when here can you feel and understand.
Our expedition has reached it peek and so we continued to more wonderful places and adventures they will never forget.
