Urbina Bay and Tagus Cove
The Galápagos Islands are a unique archipelago, and today we had a fantastic taste of it by visiting the west of the islands. The best way to begin our exploration was with an early morning visit to one of the iconic places of western Isabela: Urbina Bay. A comfortable wet landing got us ready to get into exploration. Once we started a hike into a dry forest, the first surprise of the island was a young giant tortoise that was drinking from a water pond.
Walking along the trail a symphony of nature was played by the different kinds of land birds found in the area: Galápagos mockingbirds flying from tree to tree, ground finches feeding on the seeds on the sandy ground, and Galápagos flycatchers that were so curious they flew to camera lenses.
Once we reached the farthest point of the visitor site, it was time to enjoy the presence of one of the most iconic reptiles of the Galápagos: land iguanas. The magnificence of the place was shown as the colors of nature were the perfect contrast combining vivid colors from green leaves, black lava rocks, and brown tree branches. At the end of exploration, we had a delightful moment in a swimming activity at Urbina Bay beach.
Once back on board the National Geographic Islander, it was time to get everything ready in order to continue with the adventure, so we pulled anchor and started navigation to our next destination. In the afternoon exploration just got better, and a good way to begin was to get into the water and enjoy the marvels of the Galápagos Marine Reserve. As soon as we were in the water, the magic of the underwater world showed us an awe-inspiring display: colorful reef fish were found covering the lava rocks, Galápagos sea lions were the acrobats of the water as they played with us, green sea turtles were swimming from rock to rock, but the most attractive companions were the Galápagos penguins that were found in a feeding frenzy.
The next activity was a marvelous hike to Tagus Cove, one of the most historical places of the Galápagos Islands. The magnificence of the place was shown once we reached the end of the trail in a charming view of the northern side of Isabela Island. At the end of exploration we enjoyed a fantastic sunset as the sunlight made a magnificent contrast against the giant shield volcanoes found in the area. Today it couldn’t have been any better in the living paradise of the Galápagos Islands.
