We visited the largest of the enchanted islands and the second youngest within the archipelago. We disembarked having a wet landing on a place called Urbina Bay (named after an Ecuadorian President). Our hike this morning was on a loop trail to the inner part of the island which is inhabited by the endemic yellow dragons (land iguanas). The hike happened on an uplifted area from 1954 when about 3 square km of the coastline uplifted above sea level. Right at the beginning we encountered many species of Darwin finches and yellow warblers. We also saw five giant tortoises from the nearby Alcedo Volcano population; they spend their first years of life here before they find their way to the summit of the volcanoes nearby. Some of these giants were basking under the shade of poison apple trees. A couple of Galapagos hawks were also spotted next to our trail, just posing, allowing us to photograph them.
Thousands of broken shells and large coral heads out of the water are still best evidence of a piece of the ocean floor now inhabited by a complex land ecosystem. This consists of giant tortoises and land iguanas which contribute to secondary succession. After the hike we had some time to jump in the water and go for a refreshing swim.
Our afternoon destination was Tagus Cove. This is where pirates, whalers and early sailors anchored in protected waters, some to hunt giant tortoises, others just for the tranquility of its waters. Evidence of their presence is graffiti carved deep into the volcanic ash, registering their visit before they continued their vast navigation. This is a great place to enjoy water activities like kayaking and snorkeling because the area offers a wide variety of wildlife. Penguins, cormorants, sea lions, iguanas, turtles and more are at play all around us. This can be seen and enjoyed while swimming, kayaking or from the Zodiac as several options are offered to our guests to maximize their experience of exploration. We were lucky to spot several Galapagos penguins on the rocks, allowing us the opportunity to photograph them from our Zodiac as we rode along the coast in search for endemic wildlife.
