Southern Isabela

This morning, at Urvina Bay, we had one of the most exiting landings of the week; the waves were so large that we could surf on them with the Zodiacs.

Urvina bay is unique because the entire visitor site was uplifted 15 feet in 1954. Now we can walk along the exposed coral reefs enjoying the land iguanas that live in the area. Visiting this site is like going back in time as we saw the large rocks imbedded with tube worms, shells, sea urchins and so many other organisms that depend on the water to survive. Now they are on the surface for us to observe. Along the trail we saw Galápagos cotton and many birds like small tree finches, mocking birds, large ground finches and many more.

After our walk some brave souls jumped in the water to cool off. We didn’t stay in the water too long because of the big waves that were crashing along the coastline, but it was nice and cool.

In the afternoon, we had a dry landing on Punta Moreno, where we walked on a lava field that is starting to be colonized by some pioneer plants like lava cactus and Pectis. The lava this morning, was different from the lava flow we visited on Fernandina, in the sense that this one was a little more fragile and we could hear our footsteps as we walked on it.

The highlight, however, was to find beautiful green oases in the middle of the lava. In these brackish water lagoons we found flamingoes, purple gallinules, some large yellow tail mullets and frigatebirds.

Since walking was not our only option some guests went on a beautiful Zodiac ride along the coast of Punta Moreno. From here we could also see the lava flow from a distance, and animals like flightless cormorants, marine iguanas, sea turtles and also the beautiful red mangroves that protect the coast of many islands.

After a great day full of adventures we went back to the National Geographic Islander for a great recap and dinner.