Southern Isabela
Today we had many choices and options, and I am pleased to report that everyone agreed tonight, during our evening recap and cocktail hour, that they had had an enjoyable day!
Half of our group headed towards the highlands by pickup taxi to the road’s end and then hiked up the rim of Sierra Negra volcano. Garua mist turned to sunshine, and a slippery trail gradually became dust and then rough and sharp lava as they made their way along the rim and down to Volcan Chico. The teens set the pace, parents and adults coming right along behind, and our staff guide, Celso, waiter Xavier, and Josh the video chronicler, plus Joseph from Villamil tried their best to educate, inspire and keep the group together. The views down the volcano slopes and out across the ocean were spectacular and well worth all of our efforts. It was a grand hike!
Down in the lowlands, Dora and I escorted the rest of our guests to the Tortoise Rearing Center where we were treated to an extremely complete tour: we saw the large, smooth breeding adults, the smaller juveniles, we held an egg and admired an 8 month old baby tortoise plus we watched a male determinedly following a female which he tried twice to mount and mate. The remainder of our morning was divided between swimming and beach-time, hanging out at a little café-bar or exploring the off-the-beaten-trail town of Puerto Villamil.
In the afternoon, we swam and played on the beach, followed Dora across the rugged little islet of “Tintoreras” to find white-tipped reef sharks and hundreds of baby iguanas, and drank many colas and beers first at Beto’s Bar and then at La Choza. Some took off on bikes, then by taxi to the “wall of tears”; no matter how we chose to spend our time, it was a full and good day all around!
Today we had many choices and options, and I am pleased to report that everyone agreed tonight, during our evening recap and cocktail hour, that they had had an enjoyable day!
Half of our group headed towards the highlands by pickup taxi to the road’s end and then hiked up the rim of Sierra Negra volcano. Garua mist turned to sunshine, and a slippery trail gradually became dust and then rough and sharp lava as they made their way along the rim and down to Volcan Chico. The teens set the pace, parents and adults coming right along behind, and our staff guide, Celso, waiter Xavier, and Josh the video chronicler, plus Joseph from Villamil tried their best to educate, inspire and keep the group together. The views down the volcano slopes and out across the ocean were spectacular and well worth all of our efforts. It was a grand hike!
Down in the lowlands, Dora and I escorted the rest of our guests to the Tortoise Rearing Center where we were treated to an extremely complete tour: we saw the large, smooth breeding adults, the smaller juveniles, we held an egg and admired an 8 month old baby tortoise plus we watched a male determinedly following a female which he tried twice to mount and mate. The remainder of our morning was divided between swimming and beach-time, hanging out at a little café-bar or exploring the off-the-beaten-trail town of Puerto Villamil.
In the afternoon, we swam and played on the beach, followed Dora across the rugged little islet of “Tintoreras” to find white-tipped reef sharks and hundreds of baby iguanas, and drank many colas and beers first at Beto’s Bar and then at La Choza. Some took off on bikes, then by taxi to the “wall of tears”; no matter how we chose to spend our time, it was a full and good day all around!
