Isabela Island
I have spent many years in Galápagos, and still get amazed by how one finds evidence of a constantly changing planet, with continuously evolving creatures, at every step we walk on these isolated islands.
Today, for example, while exploring Urbina Bay, as I have done on endless occasions, I was surprised by discovering sea worm shells far from the sea, and above the sea. The rocks were rounded, piled up, as if big waves had pushed them against the shore, with the only detail that the ocean was half a kilometer away. Nice little shells shone in between the lava. They looked dry, abandoned long time ago; they did not belong there.
And among this intriguing scenario there were land tortoises, land iguanas, marine iguanas, cuckoos, and finches. One could get mad by this puzzle, perhaps a joke that nature is playing on us? The good news is that we don’t live in the dark ages when things had to have a mystical explanation; we can put things together, propose hypothesis, and prove them.
So what happened at the western shore of Isabela, at the base of Alcedo Volcano, more precisely, at Urbina Bay? The land where we stepped on today had been below the sea before 1954. The area where birds fly and reptiles roam, was a coral reef where fish, lobsters and sharks once reigned. On this ever-changing Earth, and above all, on this pretty active volcanic islands, uplifting is a frequent event, and today, we stumbled on the evidence.
Geology is fascinating, but just as fascinating is to realize that the species we saw at Tagus Cove, in the afternoon, for example, are not found anywhere else in the world. I am talking about Galápagos penguins, flightless cormorants, Darwin’s finches, marine iguanas; all made us company during our snorkeling, kayak outings, and along the trail to Darwin Lake.
It was a day for amusement, a day for science and for beauty.
