Isabela
This morning dawned bright and sunny and as we disembarked on the black sand at Urbina Bay we realized it was going to be a hot one today. But what a beautiful morning it was! We had a cooling breeze that provided some relief to those who chose the long, two-mile hike option, and plenty of birds and other wildlife to make it an interesting walk. The trail took us first along the shore and then inland. We saw evidence of the coastal uplift that occurred in 1954; old marine invertebrates encrusted on the lava rocks, tube worm cases and coral heads that were high and dry. Along the trails – both the long and short options – we found large, fearless and fat land iguanas that have been eating well since the rains began a month or so ago. In addition, and to our delight, all the hikers saw between 2 and 7 giant tortoises that ranged greatly in size and hence in age. Volcan Alcedo has a healthy population of giant tortoises, and estimated 8,000 or so of them, but it is only during the rainy season that they climb down the slopes of the volcano and can be found near the coast.
Finches, yellow warblers, mockingbirds and the endemic broad billed flycatchers were the bird species that flitted among the manzanilla and palo santo trees. When we returned to the beach many of our guests headed straight for the water and enjoyed a cool swim among sea turtles, pelicans and feeding penguins.
In the afternoon we had various options: kayaking, snorkeling, a hike to see Darwin’s crater lake and/or a Zodiac ride along the eroded tuff that makes up Tagus Cove. The kayakers had fabulous calm conditions and plenty of time to paddle along the entire inner bay of the cove. There were crabs, penguins and cormorants and other seabirds resting along the sculpted tuff cliffs. The water was cooler here and the snorkelers were glad for their wetsuits; they swirled and swam with playful sea lions and saw sharks, penguins and many species of fish.
We hurried a bit to set off on the walk before the rains came; thunder and dark clouds heralded an eminent downpour. The hikers and those who went on the Zodiac ride were drenched, but the tropical rain is warm and they came back at sunset laughing and glad. Another wonderful day in the Islas Encantadas!
