We disembarked on Urbina Bay. After a wet landing on a sandy beach, we headed to explore further into the island of Isabela, where the land Iguanas of the Galapagos inhabit. As we walked along the coastline, many interesting uplifted features showed up. This area was uplifted in 1954, and everything that was under the ocean rose above sea level. We encountered a giant coral head above water. It was just incredible to think that place that held a huge marine ecosystem once is now the habitat of the yellow dragons of the Galapagos. Soon we entered the path area covered with bush on both sides, looking for reptiles everywhere. Some of us were able to spot three Galapagos giant tortoises under bushes, shading and escaping from the equatorial heat. A dark billed cucu bird, was found in the incense trees. And of course there were several land iguanas, some of them coming out of their nesting grounds while others were feeding.
After lunch, we navigated to Tagus Cove, where the titanic cliffs of this site trapped history in time, holding graffiti from many early visitors like the Dove (first sailboat to go around the world just by sail). We had several options for our guests, while some kayaked, some others went zodiac riding. We also had a hike to the top of Darwin Volcano to explore the interesting geology of this island and also enjoy the fascinating view of the lake inside the crater of this small volcano.
After a beautiful sunset, we went back on board to get informed about our next day’s expedition in Darwin’s natural laboratory of evolution.
