Isabela Island
What a great day we had. Early in the morning we arrived at the southern end of the largest island in the Galápagos, Isabela, a place frozen in time. This large land mass offers a large array of different geophysical features, ranging from long white sandy beaches to towering volcanoes, forests to sharp uninviting black lava; all of which are home to a variety of fauna, from penguins to flamingos.
We all got up eagerly ready to take on the day; we are in the Galápagos Islands, after all. Our expedition leader offered a plethora of options: some of us chose to undertake a 5 mile walk to a recently erupted volcano, Sierra Negra, drawn by the desire to see the aftermath of the dramatic eruption footage we saw the previous evening. On this option, we took a 45-minute ride on our “endemic” transportation (open-backed trucks) up a large portion of the flanks of the volcano, noticing how the vegetation dramatically changed with altitude. After a stimulation but dusty hike, we reached the rim of the impressive caldera, where we were struck by the power of nature on seeing the recently formed rock, hard to imagine except we could still a fumarole from the vent as a constant reminder of this strength.
Those who opted to have a more leisurely morning spent their time in the fascinating lowlands of the island. Here we visited the successful captive breeding program of the endangered giant tortoises of Southern Isabela, seeing the different morphotypes among adults and the unbelievable increase in size from the juvenile stage. After a gentle boardwalk through Isabela’s wetlands, a rare Galápagos ecosystem, where flamboyant flamingos and waders of all kinds were sighted, we had the chance to relax at the local beachfront bar, Beto’s.
Hard to describe the warmth of the sun reflected by the dazzling sand mingled with the soft caress of the cool breeze on our faces. Add to this the refreshing quench of your favorite drink, miles away from it all, isolated, iridescently happy faces and softly relaxed souls; my dear reader, you ought to experience this.
In the afternoon after a succulent lunch and recharged by our siesta, options are to our advantage: going back to enjoy the small town of Puerto Villamil, a panga ride and short walk to see white tip reef sharks, biking to different places in this beautiful place at your leisure, just to mention a few.
Everyone reunited at la Choza restaurant to share a cold local cerveza and some seafood snacks, while sharing their unique experiences.
As the sun sets, we all return to the ship to enjoy some time with visitors from the Isabela community, whilst learning the exciting ways that our expedition will continue on.
Wish you were here.
What a great day we had. Early in the morning we arrived at the southern end of the largest island in the Galápagos, Isabela, a place frozen in time. This large land mass offers a large array of different geophysical features, ranging from long white sandy beaches to towering volcanoes, forests to sharp uninviting black lava; all of which are home to a variety of fauna, from penguins to flamingos.
We all got up eagerly ready to take on the day; we are in the Galápagos Islands, after all. Our expedition leader offered a plethora of options: some of us chose to undertake a 5 mile walk to a recently erupted volcano, Sierra Negra, drawn by the desire to see the aftermath of the dramatic eruption footage we saw the previous evening. On this option, we took a 45-minute ride on our “endemic” transportation (open-backed trucks) up a large portion of the flanks of the volcano, noticing how the vegetation dramatically changed with altitude. After a stimulation but dusty hike, we reached the rim of the impressive caldera, where we were struck by the power of nature on seeing the recently formed rock, hard to imagine except we could still a fumarole from the vent as a constant reminder of this strength.
Those who opted to have a more leisurely morning spent their time in the fascinating lowlands of the island. Here we visited the successful captive breeding program of the endangered giant tortoises of Southern Isabela, seeing the different morphotypes among adults and the unbelievable increase in size from the juvenile stage. After a gentle boardwalk through Isabela’s wetlands, a rare Galápagos ecosystem, where flamboyant flamingos and waders of all kinds were sighted, we had the chance to relax at the local beachfront bar, Beto’s.
Hard to describe the warmth of the sun reflected by the dazzling sand mingled with the soft caress of the cool breeze on our faces. Add to this the refreshing quench of your favorite drink, miles away from it all, isolated, iridescently happy faces and softly relaxed souls; my dear reader, you ought to experience this.
In the afternoon after a succulent lunch and recharged by our siesta, options are to our advantage: going back to enjoy the small town of Puerto Villamil, a panga ride and short walk to see white tip reef sharks, biking to different places in this beautiful place at your leisure, just to mention a few.
Everyone reunited at la Choza restaurant to share a cold local cerveza and some seafood snacks, while sharing their unique experiences.
As the sun sets, we all return to the ship to enjoy some time with visitors from the Isabela community, whilst learning the exciting ways that our expedition will continue on.
Wish you were here.
