Isla Isabella is right at the equator but you would not know it from the weather. This is "winter" time in Galapagos and the temperature at sea level is around 25-28C in day time and 18-20C in the evening. There is no need for A/C for sleeping. The temperature is even colder in the highland where we were heading for our morning hike.
Due to a last minute ferry schedule change tomorrow back to Isla Santa Cruz, our planned activities on Isla Isabela had been compressed so today we were scheduled to do a morning volcano hike for 4h, followed by a snorkeling trip for 1.5h, and finished with a afternoon hike to the wetland and coast. Our guide met us after breakfast and took us first to a lagoon to watch flamingos. However, all we can see is only one lonesome flamingo! I don't know why they even bother because they were expecting only about 20 birds at most so it is definitely not a highlight. Then we arrived at 850m elevation in the clouds and mists to start our 6km round trip hike to Sierra Negra volcano. The hike is mostly along the ridge of one side of the giant crater. We overheard one guide told his group that this is the second biggest crater in the world after Bora Bora?? The diameter of the crater is 12km and it would take two days to complete the walk around the crater. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the viewpoint, all we could see was clouds and mist. Luckily, the mist did lifted briefly for us to get a glimpse of the gigantic crater just when we were thinking of leaving. It was beautiful and we could imagine how magnificent it must be if it was a clear day. There were three other ladies on this tour and we became good friends. Two are couples from Japan & South Africa/Australia, and the other is from NY, US.
 |
| Hiking the Sierra Negra volcano trail |
 |
| The mist lifted just enough to show the big crater rim |
 |
| Our hiking group |
After going back to hotel, we quickly changed into snorkeling outfit and were taken to a snorkeling pool just next to the pier. Tons of sea lions were lying on the pathway and the mangrove. Several sea lions were already in the water and started to play with the snorkelers. Yi came face to face with a sea lion. Here in Galapagos, we found the tropical fish are not as plentiful or colorful when compared to places like Malaysia or Egypt. Our guide told us that it is because there is no coral reef here. I do find the mangrove forest interesting to snorkel around. It is actually deeper than it appears on the surface.
 |
| Sea lions near our snorkeling pool |
After snorkeling and a quick shower, we changed into hiking outfit and went to the wetland hike. Joining us was the same family that we shared the snorkeling tour yesterday. We first stopped at Isabela's giant tortoise breeding station. These magnificent reptiles once roamed freely on all Galapagos islands and each had evolved into its own distinct species and their shells have very different shapes depending on their environments. The wetland hike is on a flat 11km round trip trail along the coast first where we saw some marine iguanas. Then the trail turned inland and we were told to look for wild giant tortoises. We saw three along the way. Our guide told us that there would be more in wet season when the vegetation is more plentiful. The trail ended at the spot called "Wall of Tears". It is literally a stone wall about 10m high and 100m long built by political prisoners in 1950s when Galapagos was a penal colony by the dictatorship. We ran out of time to hike to the top of the hill for the viewpoint and had to go back.
 |
| Toddler giant tortoises in Isabela Tortoise Breeding Station |
 |
| Isabela Tortoise Breeding Station |
 |
| Marsh pond along the Wetland trail |
 |
| Marine Iguanas along the coastal part of the Wetland trail |
 |
| El Muro de las Lagrimas (Wall of Tears) |
 |
| White sandy beach at the start of the Wetland trail |
No comments:
Post a Comment