Southern Isabela
We are now enjoying the wonderful landscape of southern Isabela. We started our day with a wet landing on Urvina Bay. This whole place was uplifted long ago by volcanic activity, and is nowadays the home for Galápagos land iguanas and land tortoises. All along the way we could observe shells still attached to the lava rocks and signs of where the old shore line used to be.
We found a couple of male land iguanas having a territorial dispute, fighting for a long time; they ignored our presence during the fight. We left them behind, still fighting, and continued on our way wondering who won the territory.
We had a nice warm morning and enjoyed a nice cooling swim at the end of our walk. For our young explorers we took them for Zodiac driving lessons, and everyone showed great driving skills and had a lot of fun.
We left Urvina Bay and headed towards Punta Moreno, where we went ashore this afternoon. This is one of the most incredible places in Galápagos. Here we find cacti and mangroves growing together, right at the ocean side. We also find Galápagos penguins and marine iguanas resting side by side. For those who did not want to walk, there was the option of a Zodiac ride along the coast; there, we found several sea turtles, rays, and a very curious Galápagos penguin that followed us for a while.
Those who took the option of the walk found incredible brackish water lagoons where ducks, common gallinules, and several other species of lagoon birds were spotted. This is perhaps the most desolated place in the islands with the most spectacular landscapes.
We all returned aboard after a great day which ended with a gorgeous sunset.
