We remained peacefully anchored until the wee hours of the morning off Fernandina, and then navigated south east to the coast of Isabela. The day dawned with a cloud cover and shortly after sunrise we were anchored off a small black sand beach below the green slopes of Volcano Alcedo. We slept in until 7:00 a.m., except for those of us who wanted to join wellness specialist Maria on the sky deck for stretching and a green smoothie.

 

There were two walk options (plus a couple of walk speeds) to choose from this morning. Paul led a fast, long walk and Antonio and Enrique did the long walk at a slower pace with their groups of guests. I took those who wanted the short walk option. Everyone who went out had a wonderful experience! By the time the hikes began the clouds had all blown away, the sun came out and it was HOT. We could tell that it had rained the day before as it was also quite humid. But we enjoyed the hikes and everyone was rewarded with great looks at colorful land iguanas and several giant tortoises. Because these emblematic reptiles were taken by the thousands from the islands in the 1800s and early 1900s, to be used for food by the whalers, sealers and sailors, and for Zoo and scientific collections, they are now mostly found in the highlands of the islands. In just a couple places – and Urbina Bay is one of these – can we find tortoises down near the coast. We were delighted to see several of these ancient animals this morning. We found some really large ones but also saw three youngsters of 15-20 years of age! And needless to say, we took many photographs!

 

After the walks many of us went for a refreshing swim, and stayed for a while on the black beach. Others returned to the cool of the air conditioned ship and soon we all enjoyed a delicious buffet lunch followed by a well-earned siesta. Meanwhile the ship moved north and our Captain anchored in a steep walled cove called Tagus. The afternoon began with water activities and a choice between snorkeling and kayaking. Outside the cove the kayakers paddled in the swells and headed south along the dramatic tuff cliffs. The snorkelers also encountered swell along the coast but both groups saw penguins, cormorants and sea lions.

 

The second round of afternoon activities was a choice between kayaking, hiking or a Zodiac ride. This time Enrique took the kayakers around the entire cove where conditions were calm. Antonio and I climbed the tuff cone trail with our guests and had a fantastic view back across Darwin Crater Lake to the ship anchored in Tagus Cove. The afternoon was cool and cloudy and it sprinkled rain as my group reached the end pf the trail; the view of miles of lava flows to the north was none-the-less magnificent. Paul had a full Zodiac on his cruise and they enjoyed seeing penguins and sea lions and sea turtles in the cool of the late afternoon.

 

We were all back onboard by sunset, the Captain had the boson haul up our anchor and we headed north out of Tagus Cove. Tonight we will cross the equator line twice, head to the central islands for our visit tomorrow, and remain in the southern hemisphere now for the rest of this week.