We remained peacefully at anchor until 0500 and then navigated east to anchor in Urbina Bay alongside Volcan Alcedo of Isabela Island. This site is one of my personal favorites in the Galapagos because I camped on Alcedo for over a year doing my PhD research on the competition between the giant tortoises and introduced feral donkeys. Every one of our guests who went out this morning on either of the two hiking options found one (and up to four!) of these giant tortoises. During the rainy season they come down from the high slopes of the volcanoes and can be found in Urbina Bay very near the coast.
Soon after breakfast we disembarked on a steep black sand beach and walked on sandy and rocky terrain that had been part of the ocean floor until it was uplifted by shifting volcanic magma in the mid 50’s. Along the trails this morning we found ample evidence that the waves had once washed where we now walked. There were several large coral heads along the coast, we found shells in the sand, and there were encrusted tube worm cases on the rocks. The morning was quite warm and humid but we were lucky to also have some cloud cover.
The palo santo trees, which gets its name “holy stick” because they are used as incense in the mainland churches of Ecuador, were in leaf and beginning to bloom because it has been raining here in the western realm of Galapagos. The finches were busy with singing and gathering nest building material. We came upon several large and colorful land iguanas. The big males are fearless as they have no natural predators. Snakes and hawks will eat the hatchlings but once these reptiles reach adult size nothing will bother them. We enjoyed the walk and took many excellent wildlife photos. We were glad when we returned to the beach for the chance to slip into the cool ocean. It was a delight to swim among feeding penguins and pelicans!
In the afternoon the ship anchored in Tagus Cove. There were various excursions to choose from: kayaking, snorkeling, a hike and/or Zodiac ride. We enjoyed seeing penguins and cormorants, both above and below the surface of the water.
In the cool of the late afternoon, two groups of hikers disembarked and, led by naturalists Tommy and Paul, climbed to the rim above Darwin Crater Lake. The view back to the ship anchored in Tagus Cove was spectacular and further inland, from the top of a spatter cone, we could see north along the slopes of Darwin and Wolf volcanoes. The sky blushed pink and orange as the sunset behind Fernandina. A soft shower of rain fell while we returned to the ship. It has been yet another fabulous, full, and interesting day in the magical islas encantadas of Galapagos!
