In the last part of our 10-day tour, we spent three days on Isabella Island. Isabella is the largest island in the Galapagos. It is a young island made up of 6 volcanoes. Wolf volcano, in the north part of the island, recently erupted.
We woke up in Santa Cruz at 5:30 am to be at the dock by 6:30 am to catch the ferry. It was another bumpy ride. The ferry took about 2 hours.
We checked into our hotel, San Vicente, in Puerto Villamil and were excited to find four beds! We have been living in close quarters for the last 6 weeks. Any chance to spread out is welcome.
Puerto Villamil is a small beach town. The beaches are beautiful and untouched. Our first day was free. We rested in the room for a bit before heading out to explore. The first activity was a walk along a path that took us by flamingo estuaries to a Giant Tortoise breeding facility. We toured the facility and got to see tortoises mating. It was a real-life Discovery Channel experience! The facility also had baby tortoises that were three days old.
The beginning of the path to the tortoise breeding center was filled with giant iguanas. We spent about 5 minutes figuring out how to get past them because we were all scared. We did elaborate parkour moves to get past them, and then a couple came along and walked right through. The iguanas did not move.
Lucas and Henry went down the street to eat pizza, and they brought dinner back for Michael and me. They also went to the store to buy snacks for our snorkeling trip the next day. Having some independence is important to them, and we think it is easier and safer to give them that when we travel than when we are in the United States.
On our second day on Isabella, we got to sleep in because our tour did not start until 11. We did a lava tunnel tour with Darwin, our guide. He loves his job, and he was excited to show us around. The boat took us around Union Rock where we saw a fur seal. The fur seal is a sea lion. It is called a fur seal because of the texture of its fur. Darwin told us there are no seals on Galapagos.
The majority of the tour is snorkeling. We snorkeled in a shallow area around and through lava tunnels. Lava tunnels are formed by lava rivers. Over time, water erodes the lava to create tunnels. This was some of the best snorkeling on our trip. We saw a seahorse, white-tipped reef sharks, sea lions, and many sea turtles. The sea turtles and the sea lions got close. One sea turtle snuck up on Lucas and frightened him.
We also did a short hike over lava rocks to get a better view of the lava tunnels. We saw more blue-footed boobies.
After the tour, we walked to the beach in town. Michael found a group playing beach tennis. He gravitates towards any sport with a paddle. He played a match with a local guy. The kids played on the playground.
The kids wanted pizza again, so we gave them money, and they went back to the pizza place. Michael and I ate shawarma. It was an early night because we had another full day of activities the next day.
On our last day in Isabella, we did a 10-mile volcano hike. We hiked the Sierra Negra volcano in the south of the island. The volcano crater is large (10 kilometers by 25 kilometers), and half of the crater is active.
We walked along the top of the volcano. It lush with vegetation. We learned that the guava tree (introduced to Galapagos by early Ecuadorian settlers) is killing the indigenous vegetation. Giant tortoises do not live on this part of the island because the fruit from the guava trees makes the females infertile. The National park tried to eradicate the tree, but it is impossible.
We hiked to a newer part of the island that is all lava rock. This is what the Galápagos Islands looked like before settlers brought new plants and wildlife. We felt the heat coming from open areas in the lava rock, and we saw lava tubes. It was like walking on another planet.
Lucas and Henry did great on the hike. Henry listened to an audiobook and did not complain once. Lucas and I talked about all sorts of things. The hiking is not too difficult. The hardest part is walking on the lava rock. It is the length that makes the hike challenging.
After the hike, we rushed to the pier to catch our ferry back to Santa Cruz. The first two ferries we took had captain’s seats that faced forward. This ferry was just like a tour boat with bench seats around the edge. It was by far, the worst boat ride we had yet. The ride is what I would imagine it feels like to tumble in a dryer for two hours. The boat is called Lancha Angy, but I have dubbed it Lancha Angry because that is how we felt getting jostled around.
Sometimes travel can be tough, but it is part of the package. Michael and I were in tears with laughter by the end of the ride because Michael was sitting next to a toilet paper dispenser, and the paper kept coming out and flying in his face because it was so bumpy.
We made it back to Santa Cruz. Our 10-day tour of the Galapagos was amazing. We saw giant tortoises, sea turtles, birds, sharks, seahorses, horses, iguanas, and more.
