In the wee hours of the morning we navigated across the Bolivar Channel which separates the westernmost island of Fernandina from the largest, seahorse-shaped island of Isabela and dropped anchor just as the sun was rising. The day dawned clear and hot, the ocean was mirror calm and we could see the pelicans and turtles resting on the smooth water as we headed to breakfast. We had two hike options in the morning and then a chance to swim from a steep black sand beach. Almost everyone saw many Darwin finches, the large brilliant yellow land iguanas, and several small tortoises on the morning hikes.
In the afternoon, while we had lunch and a short siesta, the Captain navigated north and we anchored in Tagus Cove. We went kayaking, paddle boarding, snorkeling, hiking and/or for a Zodiac cruise along the coast. For those who took part in the water activities we enjoyed calm conditions, chilly water temps and lots of wildlife: penguins, flightless cormorants, sea lions, and marine iguanas. The hikers had a brisk walk up to a ridge, around a crater lake to where they had splendid views in all directions of the barren lava flows on the slopes of Darwin Volcano and the National Geographic Islander anchored far below.
