Isabela is the biggest Island in the Galápagos Archipelago with an area of nearly 3000 thousand miles and was explored by whalers, buccaneers, pirates and the famous naturalist, Charles Darwin. Today we followed in their footsteps at this site visiting two different famous national park’s sites: Urbina Bay and Tagus Cove.
Our day started after breakfast with a hike at Urbina Bay. Most of our guests went for a long hike on this uplifted area which is very unique in the world since it was recently formed in 1952. Our guests were amazed to observe some remnants of marine creatures far away from the coast line, especially some giant coral heads that were once submerged in the ocean.
Urbina Bay has already been colonized by flora and fauna. Our best sightings of the morning were huge land iguanas and some giant tortoises. Both of these striking creatures are reminiscent of prehistoric times. Our hike was followed by some relaxing beach time.
Tagus Cove National Park was our destination for the afternoon. In the past this site was visited by whalers and explorers who have left behind graffiti on the rocks. The oldest marking in this area was left in 1836.
At Tagus Cove our guests enjoyed kayaking, deep water snorkeling, hiking and a Zodiac ride. The day was perfect with very good conditions for the aquatic activities. Some of the sightings of the afternoon were flightless cormorants, Galapagos penguins, sea lions, mating sea turtles and big schools of fish. A very full day indeed!
