Urbina Bay & Punta Moreno
This is our second day visiting the western islands, the most remote of the Galápagos archipelago. Our two visitor’s sites of today are on Isabela, which, being less than 700,000 years old makes it one of the youngest islands. There are rich productive seas around this corner of the archipelago, so we were able to appreciate many unique species today.
We started in the morning with a visit to Urbina Bay. Here, there has been relatively recent volcanic activity: in 1954 an area of 3.5 km² was uplifted, due to displacement of magmas underneath that preceded an eruption later that year. All along our path we could find proof of this event, in the shape of old heads of corals found inland, well away from the sea. Tube worms and shells were still attached to rocks, now completely bleached by the blazing equatorial sun. Land iguanas have claimed territories over this unusual scenery, and we found several of them basking in the sun. A young giant tortoise on the trail looked rather surprised by our visit. Small and medium billed ground finches were also in the vicinity, as well as some yellow warblers. High up in the air, three Galápagos hawks flew in circles while patrolling their vast territory.
Towards midday we all returned back on board the National Geographic Islander, in order to travel to our second destination of the day: Punta Moreno, further south. This is an extensive area of relatively fresh lava flows. From the trail one can appreciate the colossal size of the two southern volcanoes of Isabela: Cerro Azul and Sierra Negra. As you walk over the barren lava fields of Punta Moreno you discover that life does exist in this area. Deep inland we encountered several “oases” that provide a safe heaven to several species like the common gallinule and the Galápagos martin, as well as several species of fish. As the afternoon dies out, we were picked up by the Zodiacs and explored the outer coast, where there was more wildlife to be found: Galápagos penguins, brown pelicans, flightless cormorants, marine iguanas, sea lions, and the list goes on. But it was time to leave, to prepare for our next day in the Enchanted Islands.
This is our second day visiting the western islands, the most remote of the Galápagos archipelago. Our two visitor’s sites of today are on Isabela, which, being less than 700,000 years old makes it one of the youngest islands. There are rich productive seas around this corner of the archipelago, so we were able to appreciate many unique species today.
We started in the morning with a visit to Urbina Bay. Here, there has been relatively recent volcanic activity: in 1954 an area of 3.5 km² was uplifted, due to displacement of magmas underneath that preceded an eruption later that year. All along our path we could find proof of this event, in the shape of old heads of corals found inland, well away from the sea. Tube worms and shells were still attached to rocks, now completely bleached by the blazing equatorial sun. Land iguanas have claimed territories over this unusual scenery, and we found several of them basking in the sun. A young giant tortoise on the trail looked rather surprised by our visit. Small and medium billed ground finches were also in the vicinity, as well as some yellow warblers. High up in the air, three Galápagos hawks flew in circles while patrolling their vast territory.
Towards midday we all returned back on board the National Geographic Islander, in order to travel to our second destination of the day: Punta Moreno, further south. This is an extensive area of relatively fresh lava flows. From the trail one can appreciate the colossal size of the two southern volcanoes of Isabela: Cerro Azul and Sierra Negra. As you walk over the barren lava fields of Punta Moreno you discover that life does exist in this area. Deep inland we encountered several “oases” that provide a safe heaven to several species like the common gallinule and the Galápagos martin, as well as several species of fish. As the afternoon dies out, we were picked up by the Zodiacs and explored the outer coast, where there was more wildlife to be found: Galápagos penguins, brown pelicans, flightless cormorants, marine iguanas, sea lions, and the list goes on. But it was time to leave, to prepare for our next day in the Enchanted Islands.
