We disembarked after breakfast to a visitor site at the belly of the seahorse-shaped island of Isabella. This time we visited Urbina Bay, an uplifted area which holds the natural habitat of land iguanas, giant tortoises and several species of plants and birds.
We encountered four giant tortoise on the side of the trail, some of them under the trees to escape from the equatorial sun. A couple of male land iguanas were territorial and trying to impress the females walking by, as it is the beginning of the mating season for these reptiles. After the hike, we had the opportunity to go for a swim off the beach and enjoy the nice temperature of the water during this time of the year.
After lunch, we navigated towards Tagus Cove. Some of our guests went kayaking along the coast of this visitor site, spotting some Galapagos penguins, flightless cormorants and brown pelicans perched in the intertidal zone. A few Pacific green sea turtles were also spotted on the surface of the ocean. Some of our guests took the opportunity to go snorkeling or paddle-boarding.
We finished our day with a nice hike to the top of a crater lake, taking in the beautiful scenery and surrounded by an incense tree forest and the golden colors of the equatorial sunsets. Some others went on a Zodiac ride instead of the hike, in search of more Galapagos penguins and the nesting grounds of the flightless cormorants.
We loved our time around Isabela, we spent the whole day on this island, exploring the wonders of the largest of all the Galapagos Islands.
