Isabela Island
We started our morning on the western side of Isabela Island. We landed at Urbina Bay and walked on what used to be ocean floor until it was rapidly uplifted in 1954. Right at the beginning of our walk we encountered four Galápagos giant tortoises; one of them came closer to observe us for a while. These land tortoises inhabit Alcedo Volcano and descend to the lowlands to breed and feast on the abundant vegetation. We found about a dozen tortoises, which is by far a record for us here. As we kept walking along the trail there were some Galápagos land iguanas—a couple were in a courtship display, while others were hiding from the heat. At the end of our walk we jumped into the nice cool waters to refresh ourselves and some of our guests went for a mega swim to the ship from the shore.
For the afternoon we moved to Tagus Cove, there we had different options. We went kayaking, snorkeling, or for a long walk where we enjoyed the incredible landscapes of Isabela Island.
We have had a great couple of days in the western realm of Galápagos.
