Isabela Island – the Queen
We lifted anchor early as we headed from Fernandina Island to Isabela, our majestic island that holds half the landmass of the Galápagos to itself. As we approached the rugged coastline we noticed a consistent swell and wave action that bottlenecks into a small steep beach. This beach is the start of our expedition.
Urbina Bay has a tumultuous past, where in 1954, a few square kilometers of coastline was uplifted prior to a volcanic eruption on Alcedo volcano. The uplift was so rapid that it trapped various sessile creatures, crustaceans, and ancient coral heads inland. As we climb over boulders along the coast we notice massive marine iguanas sunning themselves without an apparent care in this world, flightless cormorants trying to dry their wings, and penguins starting a foraging run. We are very content even before we cut inland to explore the limits of this uplift.
The activity of reptiles is high due to this being the warm season and we find various large male land iguanas coming out of their large burrows. We come upon a wasteland or what is left of a large mangrove inlet where we find one, two…. a total of five tortoises that are using our path as their highway. Volcano Alcedo on Isabela has some of the largest individuals to be found in the archipelago with some reaching over six hundred pounds. We stop and try to understand through observation, the ancient history that has provided us with such a creature.
Upon our return to our landing beach we find that there are no less than 25 pacific green sea turtle tracks that were left in the night as they built their nests and laid eggs. It is hard to understand such a gift to our senses upon our departure especially when over twenty Galápagos penguins decide to surround our Zodiac, fishing for their daily subsistence. This was magical.
Dark clouds on the horizon make us weary of the afternoon however after a realization that new life emerges with the rains we are invigorated into exploring Punta Moreno. Both of our activities give us a different viewpoint of the same new lava flow. Southern Isabela has had various volcanic eruptions over the last centuries giving us the honor to see earth in its basaltic magnificence. Slabs of lava laid down over millennia are impressive, although finding a lush oasis in the middle of this flow is unexpected. Flamingos dot a brackish pond while being surrounded in greenery. Who would have thought that life could arrive to this hostile environment so quickly? Our Zodiac riders see the contrast of life arriving to new land however from the jagged coastal area where flightless cormorants, penguins, and turtles are the colonists.
As we return to the National Geographic Islander and pull away from the anchorage we can say with confidence that in this “kingdom” of Galápagos, Isabela is our queen.
