Southern Isabela Island
The bright and strong sun light was illuminating the expansive uplifted area in front of us. From the National Geographic Islander we saw as the big swells bathe the shoreline with breakers, making us recall of The Old Man and the Sea. In spite of the rather big waves, our landing was very smooth and soon after we were strolling among large land iguanas. The recovered vegetation of the dry forest (after the eradication of the feral goats), gave us some shelter from the strong sun rays. Hundreds of finches of several species were all around eating the abundant seeds available on the ground.
One of the delights of the visit was the presence of several dark billed cuckoos, a very skittish and unusual to see land bird. However the highlight was by far a young Galápagos hawk taking a dry bath, pouring dust onto itself and just stopping for a while to take a curious look at the passing visitors.
In the afternoon, after a fast navigation we arrived at Punta Moreno. This inspiring place shows the confluence of the lava fields of two volcanoes, Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul; the southernmost of all on Isabela Island. The dramatic lava fields invited us to reflection and we appreciated the overpowering energy of nature displayed in the stoicism of plants and animals colonizing this barren environment.
The bright and strong sun light was illuminating the expansive uplifted area in front of us. From the National Geographic Islander we saw as the big swells bathe the shoreline with breakers, making us recall of The Old Man and the Sea. In spite of the rather big waves, our landing was very smooth and soon after we were strolling among large land iguanas. The recovered vegetation of the dry forest (after the eradication of the feral goats), gave us some shelter from the strong sun rays. Hundreds of finches of several species were all around eating the abundant seeds available on the ground.
One of the delights of the visit was the presence of several dark billed cuckoos, a very skittish and unusual to see land bird. However the highlight was by far a young Galápagos hawk taking a dry bath, pouring dust onto itself and just stopping for a while to take a curious look at the passing visitors.
In the afternoon, after a fast navigation we arrived at Punta Moreno. This inspiring place shows the confluence of the lava fields of two volcanoes, Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul; the southernmost of all on Isabela Island. The dramatic lava fields invited us to reflection and we appreciated the overpowering energy of nature displayed in the stoicism of plants and animals colonizing this barren environment.
