Southern Isabela Island
Isabela is the largest island of the Galápagos archipelago; it is formed by five majestic shield volcanoes joined by extensive lava fields. Each one of these volcanoes is home to a different species of giant tortoise. Today during our walk at Urbina Bay, located at the foot of Alcedo volcano, we saw three giant tortoises from this population.
Urbina Bay has a very interesting origin. In 1954, one-and-a-half square kilometers of the marine reef off the coast, along a front of 8 miles were uplifted by as much as 13 feet! This event was so quick that much of the marine life, including fish, crabs, mollusks and lobsters, was left high and dry. We walked over this place looking for Galápagos land iguanas and enjoying the company of many different species of Darwin finches. The morning ended with a refreshing swim at the beach that we all enjoyed as the sun was very strong.
In the afternoon we visited Punta Moreno. We had different choices for different tastes! Some of us went on an energetic lava hike; some took the option of a relaxed Zodiac ride. The hike offered some of the most dramatic views in the islands – miles and miles of young lava flows surrounding the southernmost volcanoes, Cerro Azul and Sierra Negra. The highlight of the visit were the brightly colored greater flamingos that lived in a little oasis found in the middle of these huge lava fields. The Zodiac ride was a mixture of bird watching and searching for sea life. We spotted blue-footed boobies, flightless cormorants, brown pelicans, frigate birds and some spotted eagle rays, sea turtles and sea lions. At the end of the day we had a wonderful sunset observed from our ship as we lifted the anchor to our next destination.
