Southern Isabela Island
We gently rocked at anchor all night off Fernandina Island and Captain Chavez had his boson haul the anchor at 0500. While our guests still slumbered and slowly awakened, we navigated the short distance across to Urbina Bay at the base of Volcan Alcedo. Following a hearty breakfast I disembarked a large group of hikers who were eager for the longer 2.5 mile walk. A half an hour later those who wished to do a shorter version of the hike boarded the pangas and headed into shore. We all landed on a steep black sand beach with dozens of pits at the top of the beach, proof that this is a favorite sea turtle nesting site.
A section of the coast at Urbina Bay was rapidly uplifted by several meters in 1954. Even today, over 50 years later, one can still find bleached coral heads and encrusted tube worm casts on the rocks far in land from the current shoreline. We hiked along a trail on terrain that once was sea floor bottom and observed the rounded lava gravel and sand of the original beach. One highlight of today’s walk was several large and brightly colored land iguanas. There were dozens of iguana burrows along our path and we found one individual excavating; others were sunning or sluggishly moving through the dry vegetation.
To our delight we located a small tortoise! Tucked among the dry leaves in the deep shade of a yellow cordia bush, it moved just enough to draw our attention to it, and then sat quietly for us all to see and photograph. Back at the beach we swam, sunned, read and relaxed before retuning to the ship for lunch.
Aura entertained us with a presentation on human history, and at 1500 I sent Daniel and a group of intrepid lava hikers to explore the expansive lava fields of Punt Moreno. They had a wonderful walk, and were surprised to find a few brilliant pink flamingos in a brackish pool surrounded by the barren lava.
Those who chose the panga ride option, found golden and eagle rays, sea turtles, cormorants, frigates and pelicans in the mangrove lagoons. We motored along the coast and on a white-washed shelf observed huge marine iguanas and a few sea lions. For a moment a pair of penguins hopped out of the water. The sun set, a big orange ball of fire, and we gathered in the lounge to talk about what further experiences tomorrow would bring.
We gently rocked at anchor all night off Fernandina Island and Captain Chavez had his boson haul the anchor at 0500. While our guests still slumbered and slowly awakened, we navigated the short distance across to Urbina Bay at the base of Volcan Alcedo. Following a hearty breakfast I disembarked a large group of hikers who were eager for the longer 2.5 mile walk. A half an hour later those who wished to do a shorter version of the hike boarded the pangas and headed into shore. We all landed on a steep black sand beach with dozens of pits at the top of the beach, proof that this is a favorite sea turtle nesting site.
A section of the coast at Urbina Bay was rapidly uplifted by several meters in 1954. Even today, over 50 years later, one can still find bleached coral heads and encrusted tube worm casts on the rocks far in land from the current shoreline. We hiked along a trail on terrain that once was sea floor bottom and observed the rounded lava gravel and sand of the original beach. One highlight of today’s walk was several large and brightly colored land iguanas. There were dozens of iguana burrows along our path and we found one individual excavating; others were sunning or sluggishly moving through the dry vegetation.
To our delight we located a small tortoise! Tucked among the dry leaves in the deep shade of a yellow cordia bush, it moved just enough to draw our attention to it, and then sat quietly for us all to see and photograph. Back at the beach we swam, sunned, read and relaxed before retuning to the ship for lunch.
Aura entertained us with a presentation on human history, and at 1500 I sent Daniel and a group of intrepid lava hikers to explore the expansive lava fields of Punt Moreno. They had a wonderful walk, and were surprised to find a few brilliant pink flamingos in a brackish pool surrounded by the barren lava.
Those who chose the panga ride option, found golden and eagle rays, sea turtles, cormorants, frigates and pelicans in the mangrove lagoons. We motored along the coast and on a white-washed shelf observed huge marine iguanas and a few sea lions. For a moment a pair of penguins hopped out of the water. The sun set, a big orange ball of fire, and we gathered in the lounge to talk about what further experiences tomorrow would bring.
