Today we had a magnificent day enjoying the largest island of the archipelago. After a delicious breakfast we headed to land on a steep black sand beach at Urbina Bay. The upper part had a great number of green sea turtle nests. We started our hike along the inland trail, and from the beginning we observed juvenile and adult giant tortoises along the sandy and narrow trail, on terrain that had been part of the sea floor until it was suddenly uplifted in 1954. We reached the previous sea shore before that geological event, observing the old black sandy beach, which remained intact, but surrounded by lush vegetation instead of sea like before.
Walking along the old sea floor, we understood the magnificence and imagined how sea animals literally were boiled by high temperatures and toxic gases released. We observed petrified sea worms, barnacles and some shells. While walking along the trail, we saw several large yellow land iguanas and lava lizards. Galapagos hawks, yellow warblers, mockingbirds and many finches were also seen. The most attractive part of this hike was when we arrived to the coral heads. Gigantic in size and dome-shaped, they contrasted with the rest of landscape, giving us a surrealistic halo.
After more than two hours hiking, we finally reached the beach and had time for a refreshing swim before boarding the Zodiacs and returning to the ship to start sailing north to Tagus Cove for our afternoon visit. There, we started our activities kayaking along the dramatic coastline of Tagus Cove and enjoyed observing sea lions, penguins and sea turtles swimming indifferently close to us. Just behind the kayakers, I joined one of the two groups of snorkelers observing exuberant sea life like nowhere else. Rare creatures such as horn sharks, stone fish, flightless cormorants and penguins were in a feeding frenzy.
Our day ended by hiking up along wooden steps to get the top of ancient volcano and enjoy a magnificent view of Darwin Crater Lake. Continuing inland and climbing a small cone we looked northward towards the slopes of Darwin Volcano, which looked cloudy and gigantic with new lava fields as a result of recent eruptions. As the sun began to disappear, the view was splendid from the end of the trail, with Fernandina Island as background and a colorful sky. Everyone returned to the ship tired but contented, with the best memories of innocent creatures that will captivate us forever.
