Isabela, the largest island in the Galápagos group, is created by the fusion of six enormous shield volcanoes, which give rise to the characteristic “seahorse” shape of the island.
In 1954, 1.5 square kilometers of the marine reef off the coast of Isabela was uplifted almost instantaneously, by as much as 15 feet (four meters)! This happened at Urbina Bay, where we landed this morning. Exploring this site, we discovered that during the uplift, many marine creatures of the area were left high and dry, leaving barnacles, sea worms and shells attached to rocks more than half of a mile away from the shore! A huge coral head can be found in the middle of the trail leading to the old beach, which now is surrounded by land but was formerly beneath the sea.
During our hike, we had the chance to encounter the colorful Galapagos land iguanas, our famous Darwin finches, the Galapagos mockingbirds, Galapagos doves and some unique endemic and native plants, such as the Galapagos cotton plant and the “muyuyo”. The weather was perfect all morning, with a very pleasant temperatures and a nice breeze. After our hikes, everyone enjoyed the beach and the crystal clear water, while some blue-footed boobies were diving and pelicans were fishing.
Once the land and water activities ended, we returned to the ship to hear from Vanessa, one of our naturalists, about Charles Darwin and his trip here in Galapagos—his thoughts and observations, and of course the way he built of his theory of evolution through natural selection, which changed the entire understanding of life on earth.
At midday, our chefs prepared an incredible mixture of flavors for our traditional Ecuadorian lunch, with one of the most famous Ecuadorian dishes: ceviche. Afterwards, it was time to learn how to make paper beads out of recycle paper, or how to paint nature with artist Carlyn Iverson, as part of the special activities that are being offered this month, to celebrate conservation in action. The rest of the afternoon, we continued with our exploration of Isabela, with a visit to Tagus Cove, at the base of Darwin Volcano. We offered several different options this afternoon, which included exploring the site, snorkeling, kayaking, and hiking to the rim of a small crater. We also offered a Zodiac ride that took us to open waters, where we had a close encounter with a few whales! What a fantastic and incredible way to end our day in Galapagos!
