Day 4: Floreana - Isabela
Photo By Red Mangrove
Photo By Red Mangrove
Photo By Red Mangrove
Photo By Red Mangrove
AM
Breakfast at a local familys house. This is a great way to share the insights of Galapagos with a local family.
After breakfast, departure in an open-air bus (chiva) to the highlands of Floreana. During the bus ride, of about 40 minutes, your Naturalist Guide will be pointing out the wildlife and filling you in with the colorful history of Floreana's first inhabitants, like Patrick Watkins, the Wittmers, the Baroness, and the Ritters, re-telling the legend of the "Floreana Mystery", which involves the mysterious deaths of several inhabitants, mystery that has never been solved.
At 450m high, we reach Asilo de la Paz (Peace Asylum), just behind Cerro Las Pajas (Straw Hill) in the agricultural area of the island. The main attractions are of an historic type: one is the cave of pirates and the other is the freshwater spring. The two sites are located at the base of the hill, where is still possible to find the endemic Scalesia (Scalesia pedunculata), as well as a good number of Galapagos Petrel nests (Pterodroma phaeopygia), once at a border of extinction due to the predation of cats and rats, introduced to the island when Ecuador took possession of the archipelago in 1832. At present, and thanks to the GNP efforts and a special conservation project, the success of the Galapagos petrel (local name: pata pegada) hatchlings reaches 98%.
The cave of the pirates has its history since it was the home of the first settlers of the island, while the spring found in Asilo de la Paz provides water to the entire population of Floreana (130 people approx).
Also, near Asilo de la Paz, the National Park Service built a special enclosure where you can see some Galapagos tortoises (from various islands) held in captivity for educational and scientific purposes.
Back to town for our trip to Isabela, at around 11H00. Our navigation will take about 2 hours depending on sea conditions.
Arrival at Isabela Island between 12H30 to 13H00. We will check into the Red Mangrove Isabela Lodge and have a hot, wholesome lunch.
PM
After lunch, departure to "Las Tintoreras" and Bay Tour.
At the main dock, we will board a smaller craft to head out across the port, slowing down to view blue-footed boobies and Galapagos penguins sharing the same rocky sunbathing space, before turning a bend and docking.
From there, we take an intriguing walk through a jagged lava field, passing abundant colonies of marine iguanas and sea lions, to see a small canal of shallow waters, full of resting white-tipped reef sharks.
The views from here are something you will take with you for the rest of your life! The black, treacherous lava field, the emerald green sea, the green mangroves, and the cloud-capped volcanoes of Isabela, create an afternoon backdrop you are not likely to ever forget.
Once you finish the walk, you can snorkel in this warm, shallow bay surrounded by mangroves, for an opportunity to see white-tipped reef sharks, sea lions, sea turtles, and, of course, the mystery of the mangrove below the surface. Don't worry, white-tipped reef sharks are not aggressive, but merely fascinating.
Once we return to the lodge, we'll have a bit of time to relax and shower before briefing and dinner.
Overnight at Isabela Lodge.
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