Galapagos, Day 5

Thursday, May 20, 2010
Isabela & Fernandina Islands, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Urbina Bay, Isabela Island and Punta Espinoza, Fernandina Island

Up at 6:30 AM today in preparation for our 8 AM walk at Urbina Bay on Isabela Island. This was a very wet landing; the beach had a steep incline and the waves were high. Most of us got off the boat on the first wave, but Diane had to wait with a few others for another wave to bring them back to the beach.   Had an interesting walk through some nice vegetation areas. Saw a lot of Finches, Land Iguanas, and our first Galapagos Giant Land Tortoise (although a young one). The trail was easy because it was mostly compacted volcanic ash, gravel, and sand. When we were about one-quarter mile from shore, our Naturalist told us that 50 years ago we would have been standing in water. The area has gone through some major uplifting. We didn't snorkel because the sea was too rough. While waiting for our zodiac back, we saw Penguins swimming just off shore in groups and Pelicans swimming and diving for fish. Getting back in the zodiacs was an interesting feat. We ran after the zodiac, jumped up on the side, and swung our feet in. Had to be fast to allow everyone to get in before the waves pushed us away from the shore. We found out later that this landing is skipped sometimes because of the current and wave action. While traveling between islands after this adventure, we saw some dolphins and a whale although at a distance. We were the usual group of 10 for lunch at noon. After lunch we rested and spent time catching up on our journal. At 3:30 PM we left the ship for the long walk activity on Fernandina Island. Before our dry landing, we observed the Galapagos Flightless Cormorants from our zodiac. These birds can no longer fly due to their adaptation to their environment (one theory). After landing on the lava flow rock area we saw many Marine Iguana colonies. Males and females stay separated except when mating and the iguanas rest on top of each other to heat and recharge their bodies for their daily activities. We also saw sea lions, a sea turtle waiting for the tide to come in so it could return to the sea and bird life including Oystercatchers. Saw some colorful fish in the tide pools as well. Walking back to the zodiac pick up area we had to be careful not to step on the Marine Iguanas since they had taken over our path (they were coming back onto the rocks for the night). Following a quick cleanup on the ship, we had our evening briefing. Dinner tonight is on deck. We took over a table on Deck 5 (our usual 10) and had a very good dinner under the stars. Turned in about 10:30 PM.


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