Isabela Island
After spending a nice calm night off Fernandina Island we moved south. It was early in the morning and we headed to visit Bahia Urbina. The sea was smooth and with a nice breeze we witnessed the start of a new day. At around 6am we had a pod of bottlenose dolphins riding the bow wave at the moment the first rays of the sun appeared!
Bahia Urbina is a large flat area with forest and a lot of animals. Back in the 1950s this landscape was still part of the sea floor. As a result of magma pushing its way up, the sea floor was uplifted to its present level. It is surprising to see large coral skeletons far from the sea and even more surprising to see trees growing out of the coral formations!
Indeed the entire Galápagos archipelago is the result of volcanic processes shaping this whole landscape. In this particular case it destroyed a marine ecosystem and gave rise to a whole complex land habitat. As we explored the place we found land iguanas and giant tortoises foraging and resting in the forest.
At the end of the walk we had the opportunity to explore the underwater world and meet the marine life of the place. Here you can find sea turtles, and a lot of fish as well as flightless cormorants. At the end of our snorkeling outing, some of us swam all the way from the shore to the ship!
In the afternoon we explored another place on Isabela Island. This time the legendary Tagus cove, this place has always been famous for the graffiti left by the early voyagers during their visits in the Galápagos. Some of these early voyagers were whale hunters and other were part of scientific expeditions.
Here, we left the ship with a tropical downpour. The land was soaked with streams running downhill but still enjoyable. The sea was very calm and some of us explored the shore from kayaks and Zodiacs.
