Southern Isabela Island
What a wonderful day! We found ourselves in the southwestern part of Isabela. Our visitor site in the morning was Urbina Bay. We were searching for land iguanas and Galápagos tortoises in their natural state. A big portion of the coastline of this place was underwater until 1954. The magma pressure of the nearby volcano uplifted the coastline for about 10 to 15 feet from the surface. Today we were very lucky as we were smoothly showered by a gentle rainy breeze. Here we had two optional walks, a long and short one, they both were great and so we ended at a black sandy beach to start our water activities.
Back on board we continued to our next destination, Punta Moreno, named after one of our former presidents. This place is like walking on another planet; extensive lava flows with a tremendous array of shapes. Soon after walking a few hundred yards we found the miracle leading to all of this, a huge bubble has collapsed and underwater tunnels feed this place with salt water. This oasis of green vegetation allows the existence of a unique ecosystem which is a perfect environment for greater flamingos. These colorful birds were an impressive highlight in the afternoon.
Soon after we continued with our panga ride; thinking we'd already seen it all... Last week we saw about 100 Galápagos penguins and we were surprised. This afternoon we saw many more, our Expedition Leader Carlos Romero counted more than 300 penguins. He suggested that it was approximately 17% of the estimated population in Galápagos, relying on the 2006 census. The big penguin flock was right in from of our eyes, that is a wonderful highlight.
Our sun set and we were ready to go. This has been a place we will never forget, isolation at its best coexisting with nature surrounded by peace. I wish you were here my dear reader. Our expedition is reaching its peak and we are headed for more surprises.
What a wonderful day! We found ourselves in the southwestern part of Isabela. Our visitor site in the morning was Urbina Bay. We were searching for land iguanas and Galápagos tortoises in their natural state. A big portion of the coastline of this place was underwater until 1954. The magma pressure of the nearby volcano uplifted the coastline for about 10 to 15 feet from the surface. Today we were very lucky as we were smoothly showered by a gentle rainy breeze. Here we had two optional walks, a long and short one, they both were great and so we ended at a black sandy beach to start our water activities.
Back on board we continued to our next destination, Punta Moreno, named after one of our former presidents. This place is like walking on another planet; extensive lava flows with a tremendous array of shapes. Soon after walking a few hundred yards we found the miracle leading to all of this, a huge bubble has collapsed and underwater tunnels feed this place with salt water. This oasis of green vegetation allows the existence of a unique ecosystem which is a perfect environment for greater flamingos. These colorful birds were an impressive highlight in the afternoon.
Soon after we continued with our panga ride; thinking we'd already seen it all... Last week we saw about 100 Galápagos penguins and we were surprised. This afternoon we saw many more, our Expedition Leader Carlos Romero counted more than 300 penguins. He suggested that it was approximately 17% of the estimated population in Galápagos, relying on the 2006 census. The big penguin flock was right in from of our eyes, that is a wonderful highlight.
Our sun set and we were ready to go. This has been a place we will never forget, isolation at its best coexisting with nature surrounded by peace. I wish you were here my dear reader. Our expedition is reaching its peak and we are headed for more surprises.
