West Side of Isabela Island
-Urbina Bay, a Walking Tour of a Dry Sea Floor
-- Giant Tortoises and Land Iguanas
same map ....
we returned from snorkeling around 2pm ... quick turn-around time of about 20min ... share the shower, rinse all my gear, wet suit, booties, and camera .... change clothes, grab hat, sunscreen, bug repellent, shoes, new battery for camera ...
and back in our dingy for another land tour ...
***
Urbina Bay is located at the base of Alcedo Volcano.
it is famous because of a relatively recent (1954) geological event, which caused a mass of land to uplift out of the water 16 feet in this shallow bay. it expanded the coast 3/4 of a mile out into the sea.
it was noticed by passing fishermen who smelled the stench of rotting marine life: the land was pushed out of the water so fast that the fish, lobsters and other sea creatures could not escape .... they were left 'high and dry' ... and did not survive :(
it was a wet landing on a black sandy beach ...
we walked inland ... and started seeing Tortoises walking the path ...
this time of year, they travel from the highlands to sea level to feed and stock up for breeding season. ... so we saw more than Washington expected us to see :) ...
these feet carry a heavy load ...
they are so comical looking sometimes ....
video of a Tortoise walking the path as if he owned the place ...
we also saw the pretty gold-colored Land Iguanas !!!!!!!!!!! ... here are some of the largest Land Iguanas of the islands ... 3-5 feet in length and up to 25# !!!!!!!! ....
they definitely are not afraid of people ... i took a video of this guy for a couple minutes, but he never moved ... not much of a 'video' ...
we saw many burrows that they use for defense, to conserve body heat, and to lay eggs ....
this photo is courtesy of John Black, a friend on the Cruise that was fortunate enough to be on the 16-day Cruise, so he was on our boat before we got there ..... a Land Iguana eating a Prickly Pear as a source of water ...
Washington told us that the Iguanas have a '3rd Eye', visible as a pale scale in the center of their forehead, which senses light and dark and alerts them to aerial predators .... you should be able to see it in this photo ....
they seem to be well-feed .... nap time ...
the path went through some heavy vegetation, and got kinda rocky .... it was a 'wet landing' so most everyone was wearing 'flip flops' .... not appropriate footware for this walk. i guess we all missed the part of Washington's briefing where he said 'rocky path' :(
and wet with a rocky bottom ... glad i had my Keens's on :) ....
the path went through what was once the ocean floor ... it was like we were walking on the dry sea bottom, with the remants of shells and corals, ...including this huge Brain Coral ....
we also came across the remains of 2 dead tortoises .... (not related to the 1954 event)
this recent one, had enough of an 'odor' that you didn't want to get too close to it ....
our return walk was along the shore, that was once under water ....
at 4:30 we returned to the boat .... and watched the sunset over Fernandino Island ... the youngest of the volcanic Galapagos Islands ... and ... where we will be tomorrow ...
Commentary:
as i re-live these last 8 days of my trip, i am even more acutely aware of how fortunate i am to have experienced this incredible one-of-a-kind 'gem' of our Earth. those 8 days went by so quickly and were so jam-packed with wonderful events, that i didn't really have a chance to take it all in, except on a superficial level, .... didn't quite appreciate and grasp all that i was experiencing .... it's been great for me to go through these photos with a deepening gratitude.
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