This is our third day into our expedition in the “Enchanted Islands,” and today we visited Isabela, one of the youngest islands of the Galapagos Archipelago. Early in the morning we set foot on Urvina Bay. This area was uplifted in a sudden event in 1954, and all along the trail we found traces of this event in the form of barnacles and marine shells still attached to rocks, as well as an abundance of coral. Nowadays, Urvina is green and full of vegetation, and many species have settled here due to this abundance of food, like the land iguanas and the Alcedo giant tortoises. We found many individuals of both species along the trail, and particularly the tortoises seemed happy with the abundance of fresh foliage of this wet season. Back at the landing beach there was time for a quick dip in the water to cool down after the long and very interesting walk before we came back on board.
Lunch was a special one today, as a typical Ecuadorian menu was offered. It was both very varied and delicious! During lunchtime we navigated northbound to reach our next destination, Tagus Cove. Also part of Isabela, this place offers a safe anchorage so it was a popular place known to many captains in the past. Evidence of this has been left as graffiti either painted or carved in the soft tuff rocks of the area. The oldest graffiti found here dates back to 1836, the year after the HMS Beagle dropped anchor in this very same place. To make the most of the calm waters of this bay there was a chance to explore its beautiful coast by kayak, and other guests decided to enjoy the underwater world of Tagus Cove and take a last chance to snorkel with Galapagos penguins and flightless cormorants.
Towards the later part of the afternoon some of our guests decided to set foot ashore and hike to a small peak from which we could enjoy the majestic views of the lava fields of Darwin Volcano. The colors of the afternoon, the green foliage of the incense trees and even a rainbow made it all look really spectacular! Others preferred to explore the coastline from our Zodiacs and they also had a wonderful experience where much of the local wildlife was to be found, like Galapagos sea lions, flightless cormorants, Galapagos penguins, brown pelicans and blue-footed boobies.
The day came to an end, but we could still contemplate the elegant silhouettes of the young shield volcanoes that surrounded us. We could certainly feel very fortunate to be able to experience the magic of the Enchanted Islands in full.
