Urbina Bay & Punta Moreno, Southern Isabela
Hotel Manager Alexa gave the breakfast is ready call at 7:00 a.m. and those of us who had not yet awakened, they did so then. We’d had a great night’s sleep as the ship sat calmly at anchor off the coast of Fernandina. Most of us, tired out by the active day yesterday, did not even notice the anchor being pulled up at 5:00 a.m. and our short sail across the channel to the western shore of Isabela. After breakfast we had options to choose from: a 2 ½ mile long hike, a mile-long short hike or kayaking followed by the short hike.
Naturalists Franklin and Gilda led the long hikers along the shoreline and then scrambling over lava boulders. They were blessed with a breeze and cloud cover so that even on the inland portion of the trail it was not excessively hot this morning. Bleached coral heads, encrusted lava rocks and a black, rounded pebble “beach” a good half a mile from the ocean were some of the evidence that we found that the ocean once covered this area. Here in 1954 a section of the coast was uplifted by 5 meters, leaving even the fish, lobsters and sea turtles high and dry. The long hikers discovered at least a dozen large and colorful land iguanas and snapped many pictures of them.
I took a group of short hikers on a stroll behind the beach. We were serenaded by yellow warblers and what seemed to be a very happy mockingbird (though in reality he was probably just searching for a mate or advertising his territory!) and we too found many land iguanas. We counted 13 to be exact, and at least half of these were in male / female pairs. Two shy individuals scurried into their burrows upon our approach. To our delight we also discovered a small tortoise just behind the old black pebble beach.
There was time for two rounds of kayaking this morning; one led by Ernesto and a second by Franklin. Paddling along just off shore (wisely staying out of the wave action and away from the sharp lava rocks) the kayakers got close to penguins, sea turtles and sea lions and thoroughly in awe of the outing. After kayak round one, Ernesto took a few of his group on the short walk behind the beach where they photographed the colorful land iguanas and had a close encounter with a beautiful chocolate brown adult Galápagos hawk. By then the small tortoise had wandered off.
On this clear and windy afternoon, our “lava hikers” were surprised, after many footfalls upon a barren, black, pahoehoe lava flow, to find three brackish lagoons. Ten brilliant pink flamingos contrasted sharply with the lush marsh grasses growing there and the black lava that surrounded the pools. To the east loomed Sierra Negra and to the west the higher volcano of Cerro Azul. What a gorgeous afternoon we had!
Ernesto, with Henry at the motor, took the “panga riders” in search of turtles and rays in a series of peaceful mangrove lagoons. We had friendly penguins approaching the Zodiacs and blue footed boobies raining from the sky in a feeding frenzy. On a white-washed lava shelf everyone delighted to see huge marine iguanas resting with sea lions and several tiny Galapagos penguins.
By sunset we were on board, to shower and then gather in the lounge to test our new found knowledge of these unique islands with questions from the National Geographic Bee. After dinner we crawled into our cozy beds as the Islander rolled towards the southern cross, low on the horizon, and the island of Floreana.
Hotel Manager Alexa gave the breakfast is ready call at 7:00 a.m. and those of us who had not yet awakened, they did so then. We’d had a great night’s sleep as the ship sat calmly at anchor off the coast of Fernandina. Most of us, tired out by the active day yesterday, did not even notice the anchor being pulled up at 5:00 a.m. and our short sail across the channel to the western shore of Isabela. After breakfast we had options to choose from: a 2 ½ mile long hike, a mile-long short hike or kayaking followed by the short hike.
Naturalists Franklin and Gilda led the long hikers along the shoreline and then scrambling over lava boulders. They were blessed with a breeze and cloud cover so that even on the inland portion of the trail it was not excessively hot this morning. Bleached coral heads, encrusted lava rocks and a black, rounded pebble “beach” a good half a mile from the ocean were some of the evidence that we found that the ocean once covered this area. Here in 1954 a section of the coast was uplifted by 5 meters, leaving even the fish, lobsters and sea turtles high and dry. The long hikers discovered at least a dozen large and colorful land iguanas and snapped many pictures of them.
I took a group of short hikers on a stroll behind the beach. We were serenaded by yellow warblers and what seemed to be a very happy mockingbird (though in reality he was probably just searching for a mate or advertising his territory!) and we too found many land iguanas. We counted 13 to be exact, and at least half of these were in male / female pairs. Two shy individuals scurried into their burrows upon our approach. To our delight we also discovered a small tortoise just behind the old black pebble beach.
There was time for two rounds of kayaking this morning; one led by Ernesto and a second by Franklin. Paddling along just off shore (wisely staying out of the wave action and away from the sharp lava rocks) the kayakers got close to penguins, sea turtles and sea lions and thoroughly in awe of the outing. After kayak round one, Ernesto took a few of his group on the short walk behind the beach where they photographed the colorful land iguanas and had a close encounter with a beautiful chocolate brown adult Galápagos hawk. By then the small tortoise had wandered off.
On this clear and windy afternoon, our “lava hikers” were surprised, after many footfalls upon a barren, black, pahoehoe lava flow, to find three brackish lagoons. Ten brilliant pink flamingos contrasted sharply with the lush marsh grasses growing there and the black lava that surrounded the pools. To the east loomed Sierra Negra and to the west the higher volcano of Cerro Azul. What a gorgeous afternoon we had!
Ernesto, with Henry at the motor, took the “panga riders” in search of turtles and rays in a series of peaceful mangrove lagoons. We had friendly penguins approaching the Zodiacs and blue footed boobies raining from the sky in a feeding frenzy. On a white-washed lava shelf everyone delighted to see huge marine iguanas resting with sea lions and several tiny Galapagos penguins.
By sunset we were on board, to shower and then gather in the lounge to test our new found knowledge of these unique islands with questions from the National Geographic Bee. After dinner we crawled into our cozy beds as the Islander rolled towards the southern cross, low on the horizon, and the island of Floreana.
