Southern Isabela Island
The mist is still part of the daily scenery here in the Galápagos Islands; however this situation does not makes any difference when it comes to enjoy this beautiful archipelago.
During the morning we visited Urbina bay, located at the very bottom of the western slope of Alcedo volcano. This area has been chosen by the Galápagos National Park to carry out a massive campaign to eradicate the feral goats that were disrupting the islands’ ecosystem for at least three decades.
The removal of feral goats has been very successful, and it shows how determined and efficient the National Park rangers are in their duties.
Up for today, the island’s vegetation has come back to benefit once again the native herbivores such as land iguanas and giant tortoises.
As we started our walk, we found ourselves surrounded by Darwin’s finches perching on the lush, green vegetation, a result of the last rainfalls in the area.
Perhaps the highlight of the morning was to see a great number of endemic reptiles such as marine iguanas, lava lizards, land iguanas and a young tortoise. All of them were basking under the sun, as they were waiting for their body temperature to rise to optimal levels.
The landscaping also revealed coral reef skeletons, common around this place due to the last uplift, which occurred in 1954. Other types of marine life were also found attached to lava rocks, showing the immense variety of the nearby ecosystem.
After our walk we had time to spend at the beach, made mostly of the eroded black volcanic ash from the surrounding lava flows; this is the same beach that sea turtles use for nesting, as their nests were easily observed high above the water line area.
In the afternoon we repositioned the ship and disembarked at Punta Moreno. The vast lava field that covers the whole area hides oases of life, full of vegetation and bird life. One can hardly imagine that so much life could be found in the middle of a barren rocky surface. As we walked along the trail, small lagoons proved to be the efficient home to several types of birds such as ducks, Moore hens and greater flamingos.
The volcanoes were the typical scenery today, and as we left the area we were hoping for at least a small sample of their power. Our wish did not come true, as volcanoes here in the Galápagos usually erupt every four to five years (our last eruption happened in October, 2005), but wishing has never been a bad thing; after all, we were all wishing to be in the Galápagos once, and here we are…
The mist is still part of the daily scenery here in the Galápagos Islands; however this situation does not makes any difference when it comes to enjoy this beautiful archipelago.
During the morning we visited Urbina bay, located at the very bottom of the western slope of Alcedo volcano. This area has been chosen by the Galápagos National Park to carry out a massive campaign to eradicate the feral goats that were disrupting the islands’ ecosystem for at least three decades.
The removal of feral goats has been very successful, and it shows how determined and efficient the National Park rangers are in their duties.
Up for today, the island’s vegetation has come back to benefit once again the native herbivores such as land iguanas and giant tortoises.
As we started our walk, we found ourselves surrounded by Darwin’s finches perching on the lush, green vegetation, a result of the last rainfalls in the area.
Perhaps the highlight of the morning was to see a great number of endemic reptiles such as marine iguanas, lava lizards, land iguanas and a young tortoise. All of them were basking under the sun, as they were waiting for their body temperature to rise to optimal levels.
The landscaping also revealed coral reef skeletons, common around this place due to the last uplift, which occurred in 1954. Other types of marine life were also found attached to lava rocks, showing the immense variety of the nearby ecosystem.
After our walk we had time to spend at the beach, made mostly of the eroded black volcanic ash from the surrounding lava flows; this is the same beach that sea turtles use for nesting, as their nests were easily observed high above the water line area.
In the afternoon we repositioned the ship and disembarked at Punta Moreno. The vast lava field that covers the whole area hides oases of life, full of vegetation and bird life. One can hardly imagine that so much life could be found in the middle of a barren rocky surface. As we walked along the trail, small lagoons proved to be the efficient home to several types of birds such as ducks, Moore hens and greater flamingos.
The volcanoes were the typical scenery today, and as we left the area we were hoping for at least a small sample of their power. Our wish did not come true, as volcanoes here in the Galápagos usually erupt every four to five years (our last eruption happened in October, 2005), but wishing has never been a bad thing; after all, we were all wishing to be in the Galápagos once, and here we are…
