Urvina Bay & Punta Moreno
After a great night’s sleep anchored and without rocking, we started our navigation to Urvina Bay in the central western part of Isabela Island. The shoreline was calm and the waves at the landing beach gentle. To our surprise, a couple of humpback whales, a large female and her calf were close to the shore. Very kindly, mama allowed the Zodiacs to get close to admire her baby.
Once ashore, we caught a lava lizard performing a strange dance. We were enchanted by the sighting when suddenly we realized that the lizard was so hot that it was jumping from one leg to the other in order to cool down. A few land iguanas were visible along the trail, but from the bushes came a male and female in ardent pursuit (at least ardent from the male’s prospective). They proved that even with what some might consider harsh conditions, for the iguanas; love was in the air.
Numerous finches accompanied us along the trail. After our hike we enjoyed a short but refreshing dip in the ocean, followed by an exquisite lunch.
The afternoon came with sunny breezy weather. We walked onto an extensive lava field; the result of the confluence of lavas from Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul volcanoes on southern Isabela. This area contains brackish ponds and to our satisfaction we found flamingos as well as some moorhens and white cheeked pintail ducks. The hike was overwhelming and at the end of the day we had a nice Zodiac ride to further enjoy the presence of several rays swimming around.
After a great night’s sleep anchored and without rocking, we started our navigation to Urvina Bay in the central western part of Isabela Island. The shoreline was calm and the waves at the landing beach gentle. To our surprise, a couple of humpback whales, a large female and her calf were close to the shore. Very kindly, mama allowed the Zodiacs to get close to admire her baby.
Once ashore, we caught a lava lizard performing a strange dance. We were enchanted by the sighting when suddenly we realized that the lizard was so hot that it was jumping from one leg to the other in order to cool down. A few land iguanas were visible along the trail, but from the bushes came a male and female in ardent pursuit (at least ardent from the male’s prospective). They proved that even with what some might consider harsh conditions, for the iguanas; love was in the air.
Numerous finches accompanied us along the trail. After our hike we enjoyed a short but refreshing dip in the ocean, followed by an exquisite lunch.
The afternoon came with sunny breezy weather. We walked onto an extensive lava field; the result of the confluence of lavas from Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul volcanoes on southern Isabela. This area contains brackish ponds and to our satisfaction we found flamingos as well as some moorhens and white cheeked pintail ducks. The hike was overwhelming and at the end of the day we had a nice Zodiac ride to further enjoy the presence of several rays swimming around.
