Southern Isabela Island, Puerto Villamil and Volcan Sierra Negra
This has been the most perfect day for hikers! With a beautiful sunrise and an early wake up call, early hikers left the ship by 7:45 am. We all walked up the rim of Sierra Negra volcano located at Isabella Island. This is one of the top ten largest calderas in the world, and to make it even more interesting, it erupted last on October 22, 2005.
The Islander guests have the option to hike to the rim every week, to observe the evolution of the cooling new lava flow of the area. On our way to the rim of the Caldera, we bumped into the brave Park Wardens that have been trying to eradicate the goats from Isabella. We found them standing by their worn out helicopter, which is their main tool to help them find the big herds of feral goats. The introduced animals are responsible for the depletion of the native vegetation for several years now, and unfortunately competing with the local and endemic reptiles such as land tortoises and iguanas.
The afternoon was as exciting as the morning, because after our hike (and our lunch, of course), we took off again to see the giant tortoises breeding center on Isabella. The afternoon ended with a spectacular sunset on the beach of Puerto Villamil, as some of our happy and energetic guests were playing a volleyball game. Beers and music were the right combination for this unique landscape, and of course, the loud cheering for our favorite team…
This has been the most perfect day for hikers! With a beautiful sunrise and an early wake up call, early hikers left the ship by 7:45 am. We all walked up the rim of Sierra Negra volcano located at Isabella Island. This is one of the top ten largest calderas in the world, and to make it even more interesting, it erupted last on October 22, 2005.
The Islander guests have the option to hike to the rim every week, to observe the evolution of the cooling new lava flow of the area. On our way to the rim of the Caldera, we bumped into the brave Park Wardens that have been trying to eradicate the goats from Isabella. We found them standing by their worn out helicopter, which is their main tool to help them find the big herds of feral goats. The introduced animals are responsible for the depletion of the native vegetation for several years now, and unfortunately competing with the local and endemic reptiles such as land tortoises and iguanas.
The afternoon was as exciting as the morning, because after our hike (and our lunch, of course), we took off again to see the giant tortoises breeding center on Isabella. The afternoon ended with a spectacular sunset on the beach of Puerto Villamil, as some of our happy and energetic guests were playing a volleyball game. Beers and music were the right combination for this unique landscape, and of course, the loud cheering for our favorite team…
