In the Galapagos Archipelago the youngest islands are located on the west, the large shield volcanoes of Isabela Island have erupted several times in the past. Some geological events have also uplifted several areas, one of those areas is Urvina Bay located at the foothills of Alcedo Volcano. So this morning we went to explore this uplifted zone. This event happened in 1954 and as we walked along the trail there was evidence of it all over the place. Among others there were large heads of white stony coral we found along the coast.

One of the unique aspects of this uplifted zone is the presence of Galapagos land iguanas and as they dig their burrows, one can find large number of shells, fragments of sea urchins and sand dollars scattered all over the place. Land iguanas use those burrows to sleep, we found several iguanas sunbathing by the trail.

After our walk, everyone returned aboard and started to navigate towards Tagus Cove. As we dropped anchor in the calm waters of this cove, we went kayaking, and snorkeling in this place. Towards the end of the afternoon some of our guests went on an invigorating walk to the top of a crater, there the view of most of the shield volcanoes of Isabela was a big highlight. We also had a Zodiac ride along the coast of this cove; here we observed green sea turtles, Galapagos penguins, nesting brown pelicans and Galapagos marine iguanas while enjoying the last rays of sun.

As the sun set, the light on the shield volcanoes of Isabela made them appear orange and red in color, a great way to end this day.