Urbana Bay and Tagus Cove on Isabella Island

Isabella is the largest of the islands in the archipelago making up over half of the total surface area.  It was created by the fusion of six enormous shield volcanoes and has a seahorse shape.  We started he day with a hike around an area of great geological interest as in in 1954 one and one half square kilometers were uplifted almost instantaneously by as much as 15 feet leaving the marine creatures high and dry and one can still find evidence of this today finding dried barnacles and such well in land.  We encountered several coulourful land iguanas which are much bigger than the marine iguanas and one large land tortoise waiting in the woods.

A deep water snorkeling trip after lunch was good for the exercise but disappointing otherwise as visibility was poor and sightings were few for the effort as the seas were quite rough.

A hike to the top rim of Darwin Lake provided some panoramic views of volcanic flows and tuff cones.  This was a strenuous hike up but the views were well worth it.

Something must be said about the zodiac landings.  Most tend to be what are called wet landings and as most areas we have been have a fair bit of swell these must be timed closely and once the zodiac backs to shore people have to unload quickly.  There have been several that have landed in the water but I am happy to say that to this point it has not been us.  Even getting back on the ship has to be carefully timed as the ship rolls and the landing platform can change position by several feet. Thank goodness for great crew.

Rocky shores

Yellow finch

Land iguana

Darwin Lake

Great expanses of lava

Grandma and Grandpa