Western Isabela Island
It is like visiting an unknown place! I have been hundreds of times to Urvina Bay on the western shore of Alcedo volcano, the central most of the island of Isabela, but whenever the dry forest turns green at the arrival of the rainy season, I feel like I am elsewhere, in a new place.
We experienced the high temperatures of the season and the 85% relative humidity. No wonder everything is green now. But we don’t know how long this period will last, and neither do the plants, so they waste no time and we found the forest in bloom, reproduction going on as fast as possible.
The palo santo (sandalwood) forest has taken a totally different look and the abundance of finches is notorious, so it is possible to find other species such as the large tree finches and the medium and large ground finches. The land iguanas are happy and active and they show that, with their bellies full of food. Also the painted locusts jump and fly from one side to the other on the trail, sometimes landing on our heads sometimes just passing so close that we are forced to stop. Seeing and hearing this makes us think we are in a giant pot filled with popcorn cracking with the heat.
For the afternoon we are expecting a more moderate visit in terms of temperature, since the lava field at Punta Moreno is always exposed to the breeze. By the time we arrived, a very strong rain shower was being delivered, but as usual it lasted no more than 15 minutes. After that we had some sunshine and the afternoon was in general very pleasant.
Walking the apparently endless lava field gave us the sensation of solitude that allows one to commune with the forces of nature. To see how life displays in such a powerful manner in order to prosper, even with the roughest of conditions, is simply awesome.
While some of our guests were walking, some others were taking a ride on the Zodiacs, exploring the surrounding mangrove ecosystems. Numerous striated herons were pacing along the shores looking for food. Penguins and flightless cormorants were marauding in the area for fish.
The extraordinary arrangements of nature have given us once again the unique opportunity to learn and meditate, to understand why it is worth having places like these extraordinary islands.
It is like visiting an unknown place! I have been hundreds of times to Urvina Bay on the western shore of Alcedo volcano, the central most of the island of Isabela, but whenever the dry forest turns green at the arrival of the rainy season, I feel like I am elsewhere, in a new place.
We experienced the high temperatures of the season and the 85% relative humidity. No wonder everything is green now. But we don’t know how long this period will last, and neither do the plants, so they waste no time and we found the forest in bloom, reproduction going on as fast as possible.
The palo santo (sandalwood) forest has taken a totally different look and the abundance of finches is notorious, so it is possible to find other species such as the large tree finches and the medium and large ground finches. The land iguanas are happy and active and they show that, with their bellies full of food. Also the painted locusts jump and fly from one side to the other on the trail, sometimes landing on our heads sometimes just passing so close that we are forced to stop. Seeing and hearing this makes us think we are in a giant pot filled with popcorn cracking with the heat.
For the afternoon we are expecting a more moderate visit in terms of temperature, since the lava field at Punta Moreno is always exposed to the breeze. By the time we arrived, a very strong rain shower was being delivered, but as usual it lasted no more than 15 minutes. After that we had some sunshine and the afternoon was in general very pleasant.
Walking the apparently endless lava field gave us the sensation of solitude that allows one to commune with the forces of nature. To see how life displays in such a powerful manner in order to prosper, even with the roughest of conditions, is simply awesome.
While some of our guests were walking, some others were taking a ride on the Zodiacs, exploring the surrounding mangrove ecosystems. Numerous striated herons were pacing along the shores looking for food. Penguins and flightless cormorants were marauding in the area for fish.
The extraordinary arrangements of nature have given us once again the unique opportunity to learn and meditate, to understand why it is worth having places like these extraordinary islands.
