Isabela Island - Galapagos - Loved it
25 Feb – 29 Feb We did an overnight passage from San Cristobal as we wanted to arrive in the daytime. So we left SC around 1800 and arrived around 1000 the following day. Isabela is the biggest of the Galapagos Islands, in fact larger than all the other islands combined. It is shaped like a seahorse and is one of the younger islands, sitting on the western edge of the archipelago near the Galapagos hotspot. We were keen to see some volcanic activity and went on a tour of the volcano, Sierra Negra – an active volcano with its most recent eruption beginning in June 2018. We walked up into the crater and visited the former sulphur mine. We also went the famous Los Tuneles tour – which is more a tour of bridges formed by larva. You can dive or snorkel here and the wildlife is unbelievable. We were swimming alongside turtles – we saw maybe 40 which surprised even our guide. Also Galapagos Penguins - including one featured in the photo below. We hired bikes in Puerto Villamil to take us to the Wall of Tears – a wall of lava rocks built in the 40s/50s by prisoners sent to Isabela Island during its time as a penal colony. It was built by hand by inmates as a ‘make-work’ project to make prisoners suffer. A grim history. The bike ride there and back was incredible. Pottering along a coastal path (about 6 km round trip) with giant tortoises on the track, wandering along. We got quite blasé about them in the end, driving around impatiently to get back to the bike centre before the 6.00 pm deadline. Isabela is incredible, and we could have easily spent more time here, but the onward march of the World Arc timetable dictated otherwise. |