Urbina Bay & Punta Moreno
It is very early in the morning and beautifully sunny already. We sailed across calm waters and by 07:00 we were anchored at Urbina Bay. People were very excited to be in such a pristine location and there were no other vessels in view anywhere. Imagine walking on a place that was uplifted in 1954; its almost like taking a “dry snorkeling” session. Upon arrival we found a huge marine iguana that somehow resembled Godzilla (consider that almost 40 years ago Godzilla was created and inspired by a Galápagos marine iguana in a nearby location).
Along the shoreline we found flightless cormorants nesting, just on the trail! Of course they chose the most difficult section of the trail and built their nest right in our way thus making our progress even slower. It was good to know we were accepted by those cormorants in their realm.
A few meters further along, we encountered a most bizarre structure; a huge white coral head this far inland. After taking a very good look at it and learning about corals, we appreciated that we were seeing thousands of years of complex growth that was foiled and uplifted high and dry all of the sudden by mother nature's wise but capricious actions.
The morning became extremely hot, however all the creatures were hard at work. For instance we found a land iguana that was so busy trying to get some food from a tree, it didn’t even bother to look to us. A pair of brilliant yellow warblers were feeding their hungry chicks. It was astonishing to get such close looks at the birds and animals as they went about their day! After the hike, we had a refreshing dip in the ocean and we returned to the Islander. We deserved our lunch today.
In the afternoon, and with great expectations, we visited the site of Punta Moreno. Both the hikers and the Zodiac riders had an exceptional afternoon. From the pangas we found sea turtles, rays, nesting cormorants and a lava shelf loaded with huge fat marine iguanas, sleepy sea lions and penguins. Several juvenile penguins were just finishing their molt, and once the feathers come in they will be classified as adults.
On shore, pioneer plants such as cacti and scalesias sprouted from lava flows. At the fresh water ponds we found several common gallinules and flamingos. The lava produced a feeling of awe in all of us and at one point we sat on the rocks and observed, using not only our eyes, but every other sense as well. Many birds passed through, flying over our heads, and we even found a great egret perched on a tall black mangrove.
By six in the late afternoon the Zodiacs had taken all of us back to the ship. We all were silent, reflecting on all we had seen. I knew the island had gone very deep into everybody’s soul when almost imperceptibly, every one of us turned our heads to pay a last look at Punta Moreno.
It is very early in the morning and beautifully sunny already. We sailed across calm waters and by 07:00 we were anchored at Urbina Bay. People were very excited to be in such a pristine location and there were no other vessels in view anywhere. Imagine walking on a place that was uplifted in 1954; its almost like taking a “dry snorkeling” session. Upon arrival we found a huge marine iguana that somehow resembled Godzilla (consider that almost 40 years ago Godzilla was created and inspired by a Galápagos marine iguana in a nearby location).
Along the shoreline we found flightless cormorants nesting, just on the trail! Of course they chose the most difficult section of the trail and built their nest right in our way thus making our progress even slower. It was good to know we were accepted by those cormorants in their realm.
A few meters further along, we encountered a most bizarre structure; a huge white coral head this far inland. After taking a very good look at it and learning about corals, we appreciated that we were seeing thousands of years of complex growth that was foiled and uplifted high and dry all of the sudden by mother nature's wise but capricious actions.
The morning became extremely hot, however all the creatures were hard at work. For instance we found a land iguana that was so busy trying to get some food from a tree, it didn’t even bother to look to us. A pair of brilliant yellow warblers were feeding their hungry chicks. It was astonishing to get such close looks at the birds and animals as they went about their day! After the hike, we had a refreshing dip in the ocean and we returned to the Islander. We deserved our lunch today.
In the afternoon, and with great expectations, we visited the site of Punta Moreno. Both the hikers and the Zodiac riders had an exceptional afternoon. From the pangas we found sea turtles, rays, nesting cormorants and a lava shelf loaded with huge fat marine iguanas, sleepy sea lions and penguins. Several juvenile penguins were just finishing their molt, and once the feathers come in they will be classified as adults.
On shore, pioneer plants such as cacti and scalesias sprouted from lava flows. At the fresh water ponds we found several common gallinules and flamingos. The lava produced a feeling of awe in all of us and at one point we sat on the rocks and observed, using not only our eyes, but every other sense as well. Many birds passed through, flying over our heads, and we even found a great egret perched on a tall black mangrove.
By six in the late afternoon the Zodiacs had taken all of us back to the ship. We all were silent, reflecting on all we had seen. I knew the island had gone very deep into everybody’s soul when almost imperceptibly, every one of us turned our heads to pay a last look at Punta Moreno.
