Isabela Island, shaped like a seahorse, is the biggest of all Galápagos islands (more than half the surface area of the archipelago) and has 6 active shield volcanoes. There is human settlement (about 2000 residents) on the island which was first founded in 1890s as a production centre. (Source: www.galapagos.org)
Punta Albemarle
Located on the north of the island, Punta Albemarle is a seldom visited spot where a former World War II American radar base has been left behind. Service men had shifts of three weeks during which they never saw any combat action whatsoever.
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| WWII base overlooking Punta Albemarle |
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| What is left of the base |
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| Rusty tanks left to the elements |
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| Porcelain insulator for wiring |
There is a mangrove zone near the beach, where we found hermit crabs, marine iguanas and flightless cormorants.
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| Hermit crabs |
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| Sea lion interrupting the presentation (again!) |
Across the equator
We gathered in the bridge and watched the monitor as we travelled across the equator.
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0 degree
Photo credit: Adam |
We had a mini celebration, played some games and some brave souls jumped into the water.
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| Photo credit: Sefredo |
Punta Vicente Roca
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| Photo credit: Sari |
This site is only available for aquatic activities.
Before our snorkel, we took the dinghies and went along the cliffs to observe the volcanic rocks and the wildlife.
We were introduced to volcanic dyke, where molten lava were forced up into a crack of older material.
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Volcanic Dyke
Photo credit: Sari |
We saw blue-footed boobies, storm petrels, sally lightfoot crabs, marine iguanas, pelicans and our first penguins! The Galápagos penguin is the only type of penguins that lives in warm waters and nests in loose colonies in burrows or crevices close to the shore.
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Galápagos penguin with Sally lightfoot crabs
Photo credit: Sari |
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Galaápagos penguins
Photo credit: Sari |
From our dinghies, we slipped into the deep water and snorkelled along the cliff. This was one of the best snorkelling experiences I had even though we could not stop saying "FRIO! FRIO!". The sea lion paid us a visit. I saw up close 2 penguins chatting to a huge sea turtle. It was AWESOME!
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Turtle
Photo credit: Sari |
Video credit: The amazing Sari
When we got back on the dinghy, we were discussing how good it would be to have a cup of hot chocolate (it was really cold, even with full wetsuits). As if reading our minds, our amazing crew gave us a cup of hot chocolate the minute we boarded the boat. Truly wonderful!
The day could not end better - from our boat, we saw mola mola jumped out of water at least 4 times, with the silvery skin reflecting the setting sun. We also saw a whale surfaced several times and manta rays making spectacular leaps out of the sea in the background. Our captain followed the whale (still debating what kind of whale), sometimes turning the boat around so that we could see the whale one more time.
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| Whale |
Bahía Urbina
From our dinghy, Jenny alerted us to a Galápagos hawk on the beach.
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| Galápagos hawk |
A trail from the beach led us into the arid zone of the island, where we saw yellow flowers after yellow flowers. Apparently, the native plants in Galápagos only have white and yellow flowers.
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Poison apple has
poisonous milky sap that burns the skin |
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| Yellow cordia |
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| Darwin's cotton |
Curiously, this is not a white or yellow flower:
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| Land iguana |
We saw land iguanas. Though they can be similar in size, the land iguana is easily differentiated from the marine iguana through its colour, sharp nose and non-flat tail.
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Check out the spines on top of the head
and on the back |
We also saw the land tortoise for the first time.
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| Land tortoise in a land iguana's cave |
The most exciting part of the walk was watching a cat-and-mouse game. On the previous night, we had watched BBC's documentary series on Galápagos narrated by Tilda Swinton and saw how the Galápagos hawk catch a marine iguana. During the walk, we observed how a land iguana suddenly realised that a predator was in the vicinity and jumped into the foliage as the Galápagos hawk swooped down. The hawk waited patiently and then started to search methodologically. I held my breath, wondering if the iguana would be found. Eventually, the hawk gave up and flew away. Lucky land iguana!
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Galápagos hawk looking for its prey
Land iguana hidden near yellow flowers |
Bahía Elizabeth
We started our dinghy ride at 6am and were rewarded by being able to witness a feeding frenzy by storm petrels, blue-footed boobies, frigatebirds, pelicans, nobbies and penguins. It was quite a sight - the birds would fold themselves up and dived into the water like a spear.
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| Feeding frenzy at Elizabeth Bay |
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| Every bird for itself |
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| Inner cove |
A playful Galápagos sea lion swam with us as our dinghies made their way to the red mangroves, where we switched off the engines and paddle.
The red mangroves can be seen as small bushes but can also grow as tall as 22m.
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| Red mangroves |
This is the only area where sea lions had learnt to 'climb' onto the mangroves for shelter.
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| Sea lion in magrove |
The water was very clear in some parts but unfortunately we did not see any golden cownose ray. There were, however, many sea lions and turtles. The calm water provides sanctuary to the turtles which rest and feed in the area.
On our way out, we saw a pelican and blue-footed boobies having a rest and penguins swimming.
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| Blue-footed boobies |
Punta Moreno
Punta Moreno is famous for its lava formations and brackish coastal lagoons. This was also where we had our last snorkelling.
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Green sea urchins
Photo credit: Sari |
The water was freezing, so cold that my ears hurt. We were looking out for marine iguanas diving to feed on the seaweed but sadly, I did not see any. Making up for the loss, I saw a nurse shark, a lot of sea urchins, turtles and a huge school of cardinal fish.
The sea urchins were beautiful BUT the waves and currents were pushing us towards the rocks, making it quite scary for me - the last thing I need was to have 10 sea urchins stuck to me. I had no need for more souvenirs!
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Needle sea urchins
Photo credit: Sari |
Floating along with the turtles was especially zen-like and therapeutic. It had a calming effect and I love it.
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Pacific green turtle
Photo credit: Sari |
On the way back to the boat, Ricardo spotted more than 20 penguins and we stopped to have a good look.
We first took a bus to Asilo de la Paz, a 450m hill in the agricultural area of the island. A corral has been built by the Galápagos National Park to hold tortoises from various islands in captivity.
