Today we were still at the western part of the archipelago and we began this fantastic day with an amazing visit to Urbina Bay. This visitor site is of great geological interest because in 1954 almost half a square mile of the marine reef off the coast was uplifted almost instantaneously by as much as 16 feet!
The start of the exploration was a comfortable wet landing at a black sandy beach. We hiked into a dry forest which was rainy the day before. Darwin finches were enjoying the great weather conditions looking for soft seeds, however the great surprise of the morning was a Galapagos giant tortoise right at the trail! Farther ahead we saw the Galapagos land iguanas, most of them males, very close to their burrows, posing for the eager photographers who tried to apply the latest techniques learned on board. As we were walking toward the remains of the exposed corals, remnants of this upheaval, the sun came out which provided better light for our pictures and warmed us up. Along the coastal area we could observe Sally light foot crabs, brown pelicans, and very big male marine iguanas. After this activity many of our guests used the opportunity to jump into the water. What a delight! It was very refreshing, water temperature 80F.
Once everybody was back on board the National Geographic Islander, we pulled anchor and started the navigation toward Tagus Cove. As we were approaching our destination a sudden announcement was made through the PA system: there is a whale close to the ship! Indeed, it stayed very close to our ship and our guests enjoyed the sight of a blue whale, the largest mammal on earth! We got incredible pictures, the whale was very playful and I had never seen a Blue Whale showing its fins and staying so long, so close to the surface. This was certainly a once in a life time experience! And this was just the start of the afternoon which was filled with options- from kayaking to deep water snorkeling. Later we offered a Zodiac ride along this amazing coastline or a scenic hike up the rim of a tuff cone. Our guests were happy with every single option and I was fortunate to take care of the kayakers, two rounds along the coast of this eroded tuff cone with amazing formations. A flightless cormorant caught a fish in front of us, Galapagos Penguins were maneuvering between the kayakers, sea turtles were coming up for air next to us, blue footed boobies and brown noddies were perching on the small platforms along the tall cliffs, and brown pelicans were showing how excellent they are at fishing. What a great afternoon and good exercise at the same tame.
Galapagos is a magical place and this was just another great and happy day in paradise!
