Isabela Island
This morning many of us expected good weather to climb Sierra Negra volcano, which was covered by thick clouds. We prepared ourselves with rain jackets and got into the local taxis, white four wheel drive pick-ups, in which we drove forty five minutes passing through the farm areas and finding one of the most spectacular land birds of the islands, the vermillion flycatcher. This little bird, red as its name suggests, were posing for us. The most adventurous ones joined the seven mile hike close to the spot where the last eruption took place. The rest of us decided to take the three mile hike to enjoy the view of one of the top ten largest calderas on earth. Once on top, the sun broke through the clouds, and a spectacular landscape presented itself. What a wonder of nature! Everybody relaxed on their way back to town to embark on the Islander.
In the afternoon, after a well deserved siesta, we were ready to visit the giant tortoises breeding center of Puerto Villamil, where through conservation efforts, a successful program have been set up, in order to save the giant tortoises of the largest island of the archipelago, Isabela Island. Here, we observed not only the adults from different species but also the baby tortoises. It was a great opportunity to learn more about these unique creatures, which are the ones that gave the name to the islands. Later on, we enjoyed a short hike to town, where we saw white checked pintails and moorhens. We even had time to stop at the white sandy beach of town, where we enjoyed some drinks at a local kiosk while the younger guests played soccer with the locals and others were having fun playing volleyball at the beach. The hard part was to return back on board, however it was getting dark, and there would be more of these days to come. A wonderful day went by at one of the most pristine places on earth, the Galápagos!
This morning many of us expected good weather to climb Sierra Negra volcano, which was covered by thick clouds. We prepared ourselves with rain jackets and got into the local taxis, white four wheel drive pick-ups, in which we drove forty five minutes passing through the farm areas and finding one of the most spectacular land birds of the islands, the vermillion flycatcher. This little bird, red as its name suggests, were posing for us. The most adventurous ones joined the seven mile hike close to the spot where the last eruption took place. The rest of us decided to take the three mile hike to enjoy the view of one of the top ten largest calderas on earth. Once on top, the sun broke through the clouds, and a spectacular landscape presented itself. What a wonder of nature! Everybody relaxed on their way back to town to embark on the Islander.
In the afternoon, after a well deserved siesta, we were ready to visit the giant tortoises breeding center of Puerto Villamil, where through conservation efforts, a successful program have been set up, in order to save the giant tortoises of the largest island of the archipelago, Isabela Island. Here, we observed not only the adults from different species but also the baby tortoises. It was a great opportunity to learn more about these unique creatures, which are the ones that gave the name to the islands. Later on, we enjoyed a short hike to town, where we saw white checked pintails and moorhens. We even had time to stop at the white sandy beach of town, where we enjoyed some drinks at a local kiosk while the younger guests played soccer with the locals and others were having fun playing volleyball at the beach. The hard part was to return back on board, however it was getting dark, and there would be more of these days to come. A wonderful day went by at one of the most pristine places on earth, the Galápagos!
