We awoke this morning on the calm western side of the Galápagos archipelago. The breeze was soft and cool and gave us a nice welcome to explore the foot of this magnificent chain of volcanos. It was a sunny morning and we had a great view of the landscape. In fact the right condition for exploring this new visitor site. Isabela is the largest island and is formed by five major volcanos. All of them active and also all of them home to the iconic Galapagos giant tortoises. We also found land iguanas, marine iguanas, and many other species unique to the Galápagos.
In the morning we landed at Urbina Bay for a long walk. Here we explored the dry forest and we had close encounters with giant tortoises and we also visited a nesting colony of Galápagos land iguanas. The nesting season for these reptiles ended a few months ago, their burrows are in most cases still intact and close to the trail. This is evidence of a successful breeding season that just ended. Most of these burrows contain eggs that soon will hatch.
In the afternoon we anchored in a different place called Tagus Cove. This is a sheltered spot great for snorkeling and kayaking. The landscape is superb with layers of volcanic ash and Palo Santo trees dotting the landscape. The water was clear and snorkeling was great! This is a foraging ground for the Pacific green sea turtles that came to this spot by the hundreds.
With activities such as snorkeling, kayaking and a hike we are saying goodbye to Isabela and its own attractions. The shore on this island is home for the endemic flightless cormorant, the Galápagos penguin, the sea lions, etc. It was a terrific day, we had so much fun discovering these unique organisms that make the Galápagos a very special place.
