Urbina Bay & Punta Moreno, Southern Isabela
We have reached the mid-southern part of the Island of Isabela on its western flank. The morning is cool and a layer of mist gives the island a serene appearance from a distance; however, we know that the local fauna is starting their daily activities to achieve their main daily goal: survival!
Soon after debarkation at Urbina Bay, a young hawk was found perching on a rock. Its distinctive calling for food gave away his status in life: young, immature and still under the protection of its parents for food. The calling was constant, and once he realized that none of us were about to respond to his call, nature continued with its master plan, and the hawk eagerly started to soar around and search for food on its own.
Hundreds of finches (literally), warblers and mockingbirds accompanied us during our hike along the coastline of the island. The presence of coral heads in certain areas suggested an uplift, which indeed happened back in 1954. Yellow was the predominant color of the surroundings; the bright yellow land iguanas were found literally in the middle of the trail and the blossoms of yellow cordia and Galápagos cotton gave a touch of color to the predominant black lava rocks of the surroundings.
Up to this point we had achieved everything we wanted from this particular place, but the most exciting part of the morning was yet still to come. Once we were done with our hike, the captain informed us that dolphins were found not far from where the ship was anchored. It took no time, as the always ready Zodiac drivers were waiting at the beach to take us to the dolphins. It was a very fulfilling experience that put lots of smiles on our faces. Extremely friendly, the bottle nose dolphins allowed us to stay with them for over forty minutes, observing their feeding habits and their incredible skills when breaching.
The afternoon brought up different surprises to us all. Sierra Negra volcano showed a very active fumarole during the whole afternoon. The surroundings of Punta Moreno are covered with an intricate mangrove ecosystem. Frigate birds gave us a show worthy of admiration. There were at least thirty of them perched on mangrove branches while a similar amount of them were soaring above our heads. The lagoon’s system of Punta Moreno is continuously visited by golden rays, turtles and sharks which give the appearance of being inside a fish tank in an aquarium, but of course this was by far much better!
We have reached the mid-southern part of the Island of Isabela on its western flank. The morning is cool and a layer of mist gives the island a serene appearance from a distance; however, we know that the local fauna is starting their daily activities to achieve their main daily goal: survival!
Soon after debarkation at Urbina Bay, a young hawk was found perching on a rock. Its distinctive calling for food gave away his status in life: young, immature and still under the protection of its parents for food. The calling was constant, and once he realized that none of us were about to respond to his call, nature continued with its master plan, and the hawk eagerly started to soar around and search for food on its own.
Hundreds of finches (literally), warblers and mockingbirds accompanied us during our hike along the coastline of the island. The presence of coral heads in certain areas suggested an uplift, which indeed happened back in 1954. Yellow was the predominant color of the surroundings; the bright yellow land iguanas were found literally in the middle of the trail and the blossoms of yellow cordia and Galápagos cotton gave a touch of color to the predominant black lava rocks of the surroundings.
Up to this point we had achieved everything we wanted from this particular place, but the most exciting part of the morning was yet still to come. Once we were done with our hike, the captain informed us that dolphins were found not far from where the ship was anchored. It took no time, as the always ready Zodiac drivers were waiting at the beach to take us to the dolphins. It was a very fulfilling experience that put lots of smiles on our faces. Extremely friendly, the bottle nose dolphins allowed us to stay with them for over forty minutes, observing their feeding habits and their incredible skills when breaching.
The afternoon brought up different surprises to us all. Sierra Negra volcano showed a very active fumarole during the whole afternoon. The surroundings of Punta Moreno are covered with an intricate mangrove ecosystem. Frigate birds gave us a show worthy of admiration. There were at least thirty of them perched on mangrove branches while a similar amount of them were soaring above our heads. The lagoon’s system of Punta Moreno is continuously visited by golden rays, turtles and sharks which give the appearance of being inside a fish tank in an aquarium, but of course this was by far much better!
