“The next morning I went out walking. To the south of the broken tuff-crater, in which the Beagle was anchored, there was another beautifully symmetrical one of an elliptic form; its longer axis was a little less than a mile, and its depth about 500 feet. At its bottom there was a shallow lake, in the middle of which a tiny crater formed an islet. The day was overpoweringly hot, and the lake looked clear and blue; I hurried down the cindery slope, and choked with dust, eagerly tasted the water- but, to my sorrow, I found it was salt as brine. The rocks on the coast abounded with great black lizards, between three and four feet long; and on the hills, an ugly yellowish-brown species was equally common. We saw many of this latter kid, some clumsily running out of the way, and others shuffling into their burrows…The whole of this northern part of Albemarle Island is miserably sterile.” (Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle.)

Today we spent our day in Isabela, otherwise known as Albemarle Island. We explored the northern part of the island that Darwin described as miserably sterile, but we will describe it as more beautiful and greener than the other places that we have visited. Darwin came during the dry season; we are currently in the end of the rainy season. The “black lizards” or marine iguanas welcomed us during our walk along the coast of Urbina Bay, and the “ugly yellowish-brown species” or land iguanas were a highlight for our visit. We will agree with Darwin that the day was overpoweringly hot, but we remedied that with a mega swim from the beach to the walk.

In the afternoon, at Tagus Cove, we hiked on the tuff crater and we observed the beautiful lake within. Later we explored at sea level, with kayaking, snorkelling, and Zodiac rides along the stunning coasts. The good news is that the island has still those unique species that Darwin described in his journal from his visit in 1835. The landscape changes, witnessing the passing of time, and today we were witness to of the wonders of The Enchanted Islands.