Isabela

Stop two in the Galapagos: Isla Isabela.

Here I am exploring my new passion - flying....  Well you'd think it was a passion given all the flights we have taken so far. 

Today’s light plane ride from San Cristobal to Isabela was one of the most beautiful. The view was incredible! It was a clear day apart from the few clouds the islands attract so we could see the other islands as we passed. 

But flying over Isabela was eye opening. The island was created by volcanic activity (well it is several volcanos joined together) and it is clear that it is relatively new in the scheme of things. We flew over plains of volcanic rock which looked rather like a colossal overcooked chocolate brownie. There are parts where erosion has occurred and water has obviously collected and trees and bushes are growing however this is only near the airport, leaving a large expanse of dark hued rock to fly over.

Our time on Isabela, however was a further exploration of the Galapagos wildlife rather than things volcanic. I was most keen to see the marine iguanas so we chose a tour to Las Tintoreras bay.  

This trip turned out to be an absolute bonus, we saw all kinds of wildlife the island had to offer including seal lions (not seals as I previously believed)….

blue footed boobies....

pelicans fishing, turtles - both green and darker, sting rays, a chocolate chip starfish, parrot fish in a feeding frenzy (this even came with sound effects!), a number of Galápagos penguins, white tipped sharks, other star fish, sea cucumbers, miriad other brightly coloured reef fish and, of course marine iguanas.....

We counted ourselves very lucky indeed! The amount of wildlife we’ve seen really has astounded me. 

The penguins, well all the wildlife, look very healthy. But the penguins particularly. They had time to lounge on the rocks and bathe. We could see them playing, looking like ducks on the top of the water. Of course they must dive and feed in the sea but they apparently do most of their fishing at night according to the guide. So instead, this day, they were enjoying the bay like our fellow Homo sapiens, playing and splashing about. 

Further exploration gave us the opportunity to see flamingos feeding...

And more tortoises at a breeding centre

and lizards

This island was a real wildlife highlight in Galapagos for me, I thought it was the best of the islands we experienced on the Galapagos.