Isabela and Fernandina Islands
It was a day of calm seas and light skies, a day when Isabela and Fernandina volcanoes remained clear, showing their shield silhouettes until late at night, thanks to a luminous full moon, the Milky Way and red Antares, brighter than ever.
An unexpected giant tortoise joined hikers at Urbina Bay; we had seen several land and marina iguanas by then, but the enormous reptile, which this time of year stays on higher grounds, was a pleasant surprise. The same for a Galápagos hawk, so curious that it followed us to the beach, as if surveying the area while people jumped into the refreshing seas. But we also paid attention to the little creatures along the way, like the finch in this picture, so proud for its beak, capable of crashing medium size seeds. All the species mentioned are unique to Galápagos; we had the privilege of sharing our morning with animals that are found nowhere else in the world!
The same happened in the afternoon, when we encountered Galápagos penguins and flightless cormorants, both on land and underwater. Power hikers went into the flanks of Darwin Volcano to find a fair, beautiful view, Darwin Lake, dark blue water inside the crater of a tuff cone.
Once on board we decided to sail away, to search for marine mammals; but it was the skies that caught our attention. There was Scorpio, a gigantic constellation, with the “rival of mars” at its neck, Antares, and the summer triangle, and the Southern Cross, and all seven volcanoes of the western realm as towers of splendor and stateliness.
