Sunday February 22
We spent today at two locations on the central west coast of Isabela. While some of our shipmates went for a brisk hike before breakfast, we opted for a two-hour zodiac ride along the cliffs of Tagus Cove. The hikers went up to the crater lake of the Darwin Volcano, so named because The Darwin visited this spot. The hikers said the views were amazing. On our zodiac cruise we were rewarded with two new bird species, penguins, turtles and cormorants. The first section of cliffs we visited were lined with Brown Pelican nests; we watched a pair of chicks reaching into a parent’s throat pouch to fetch breakfast.
After our own breakfast we kayaked along the opposite wall of the cove for an hour. And after that we went snorkeling for an hour, joined by sea lions, rays, penguins, turtles, barracudas, and flightless cormorants. It was particularly fun to watch a cormorant scatter a large school of sardine as it chased down a snack.
Yes— zodiac ride, kayaking and snorkeling all before noon!
After a barbecue lunch served on the top deck, we transitioned three hours south to Bahia Urbina. Bahia Urbina lies at the base of the Alcedo volcano. It is one of the parts of Isabela that was filled in by a great uplifting action in 1954. We walked first on sandy trails (courtesy of the uplift) and back on trails with rounded ocean-tumbled rocks, part of the previous shoreline. It was raining as we left the ship, and after yesterday’s deluge we decided to leave the long lenses and binoculars on board. By the time we had disembarked on the beach, the skies were clearing and our hike was in warm sunshine. Fortunately all the species were close enough that our lack of “normal equipment” did not keep us from seeing and enjoying the wildlife. In fact being there right after a rain may account for the high activity level we witnessed.
Bahia Urbina is home to the largest of the subspecies of Galapagos giant tortoises (the Alcedo tortoise), which can weigh up to 700 pounds. During our short walk we saw 27 tortoises of various sizes; most were females who have come down from the highlands to lay their eggs in the warmer soil at lower elevation. Tortoises do not hear or see all that well but they have excellent senses of smell, and are very sensitive to vibration. If we stood still, in most cases they walked right past us, but if we needed to pass them, they would exhale (to make room inside their carapace) and pull in their head, limbs, and tail.
One of the most common small tree species is known as “poison apples” with the Latin name “hippomania” or “ crazy horse”. It is poisonous for mammals but not for reptiles. We saw several endemic birds. One little flycatcher was so curious that it nearly landed on the end of Kevin’s camera. We also saw an amazing pollinating moth with a proboscis that was more than twice its body length, and a bright yellow male land iguana.
We were just getting ready for our pre-dinner briefing when our trip leader came on the PA to say “we have dolphins, come to the stern deck”. Probably a dozen bottlenose dolphins put on a real show for us, and then the sunset took over. Spectacular!
Pictured: Land Iguana, Bottlenose Dolphin, Alcedo Giant Tortoise, Galapagos Flycatcher, Galapagos Penguin and Marine Iguana, baby Brown Pelicans having breakfast
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