Today we visited the magical Isabela Island which is a young island formed by several active volcanoes. Anywhere you look you see the enormous shield shaped volcanoes. The ecosystems are different and change with the altitude of the giant mountains. Close to the shores we typically find green coastal plants and a few feet above sea level we have a vast, dry, thirsty forest waiting for the annual rainy season.
This morning we are at the center of Isabela known as Urbina Bay. it is a black sandy beach at the foot of Alcedo Volcano which is frequented by sea turtles during the breeding season. We are reaching the end of the year and it is time to have the first sea turtles crawling up the beach looking for a nesting spot. As we headed to the landing site this morning, we found several Pacific green sea turtles in the shallow waters. And on land there were already the first tracks made by the early individuals that made it to the shore.
As we explored the forest suddenly it was so obvious that there were some special creatures there! We started to find burrows all along the path and many of them are new. This is the territory of the Galapagos land Iguanas and they are getting ready for the nesting season. Male iguanas are guarding their territories and we could hear and see them as they walked to collect juicy berries.
In the afternoon we anchored at the legendary Tagus Cove. Many seafarers throughout the centuries have visited this place and they all have left their signatures carved on the steep cliffs that protect the cove. Here we can see names of ships from everywhere! Some of them were carved on the rock in the 1800s. Tagus cove was one the places visited by the H.M.S Beagle and the famous naturalist on board the ship was Charles Darwin. This great naturalist took part of his collections from the place we just visited!
The marine life at this location is spectacular! As we explored the snorkeling site we spotted penguins, cormorants, sea turtles and lots of fish.
It was a fabulous visit to a wonderful place!
