Isabela Island
Puerto Villamil is one of those little villages that are synonymous of peace and relaxation; the first look at the shoreline with such beautiful, long beaches is so inviting for laying down in the shade of the palms trees and contemplating the astonishing scenery of the area.
However, there is so much to do. The majority of the people went up to the rim of Sierra Negra volcano to see one of the largest calderas in the world. However, the main attraction was to see the caldera floor which is been filled with new magma after the last eruption a couple of months ago. On the way down, some of us went for a birding walk and we got to see one of the most colourful species of land birds: the vermillion flycatcher. But we also saw some of the famous Darwin finches such as the woodpecker finch, large tree finch and the smallest of them, the warbler finch. A few of our guests decided to go for a nice Zodiac ride and a short walk to see the cute little penguins, some marine iguanas and the main attraction was an incredible feeding frenzy of hundreds of blue-footed boobies and pelicans right in front of their eyes.
After lunch, we went out once again to do another visit, but in this case we were visiting the rearing centre for giant tortoises. This is a place where some scientific research is taking place year around, to make sure that the population of giant tortoises of the two southern volcanoes of Isabela Island get back to a normal population and avoid the danger of extinction. Here we saw little babies, young guys and full grown tortoises.
By the end of the day, we were gathered in a little kiosk for drinks in the middle of a marvellous sandy area while contemplating the sun setting down.
Puerto Villamil is one of those little villages that are synonymous of peace and relaxation; the first look at the shoreline with such beautiful, long beaches is so inviting for laying down in the shade of the palms trees and contemplating the astonishing scenery of the area.
However, there is so much to do. The majority of the people went up to the rim of Sierra Negra volcano to see one of the largest calderas in the world. However, the main attraction was to see the caldera floor which is been filled with new magma after the last eruption a couple of months ago. On the way down, some of us went for a birding walk and we got to see one of the most colourful species of land birds: the vermillion flycatcher. But we also saw some of the famous Darwin finches such as the woodpecker finch, large tree finch and the smallest of them, the warbler finch. A few of our guests decided to go for a nice Zodiac ride and a short walk to see the cute little penguins, some marine iguanas and the main attraction was an incredible feeding frenzy of hundreds of blue-footed boobies and pelicans right in front of their eyes.
After lunch, we went out once again to do another visit, but in this case we were visiting the rearing centre for giant tortoises. This is a place where some scientific research is taking place year around, to make sure that the population of giant tortoises of the two southern volcanoes of Isabela Island get back to a normal population and avoid the danger of extinction. Here we saw little babies, young guys and full grown tortoises.
By the end of the day, we were gathered in a little kiosk for drinks in the middle of a marvellous sandy area while contemplating the sun setting down.
