Isabela, Galapagos
Ecuador
It took 2 hours and 5 separate fees to reach Isabela Island. The difference to Santa Cruz was stark: gone was the development, the souvenir stores, the busyness and the mounds of tourists. Instead there were wide, sandy beaches, only a small cluster of restaurants and hostels, and a distinct lack of people. We were staying opposite the main beach, a long and beautiful expanse of white sand where rustic bars offered coco locos (the best cocktail ever) and all day happy hours. This felt more like island life.
Right in the middle of town was a salt lagoon, where 5 flamingos were iconically sleeping while standing on one leg. I have only seen flamingos a few times in my life but these were definitely the pinkest I had laid eyes on. They must eat a lot of shrimp.
Walking a couple of kilometres out of town, we ended up in a mangrove area known as Concha Perla where we could snorkel right off the shore for free. As soon as we entered the water we spotted a stingray foraging in the sandy floor - another animal we could tick off our must-see checklist. There were a decent amount of tropical fish but they were all the same variety. Rather than animal spotting, we had more fun swimming along the edges of the mangroves and through rocky crevices that offered little room for error on either side. The water was a mix of fresh and saltwater, creating pockets of hot then cold that made it just bearable enough to swim without a wetsuit.
In the afternoon we joined our first tour, Las Tintoreras. Only a few minutes’ boat ride from the jetty were a series of volcanic rock islets where a range of wildlife liked to hang out. From the boat we saw Galapagos penguins swimming in the water (another tick), blue-footed boobies, and a sole Nazca booby (tick). The Nazca was nowhere near as impressive as the blue-footed variety.
Next we took a walk on one of the islets, crossing over black volcanic rocks speckled with white lichen that looked a lot like bird poo. The area was home to tons of marine iguanas who were often spotted piled up on top of each other, giving rise to their collective term of a mess of iguanas. The highlight here was shark canal, where from above we could peer down through the water of a narrow channel to see white-tipped reef sharks (the tintoreras) sleeping on the seabed below. A few were awake and gliding up and down the canal, along with a couple of sea turtles and a sea lion that just wanted to play.
After this we could finally enter the water, snorkelling through the shallow islets. Sea turtle after sea turtle swam by, and a few friendly sea lions completed loops around us. Penguins darted in all directions while a stingray slowly made its way across the sea floor. Entering shark canal was a little daunting, the solid rock walls preventing any form of escape. Most of the sharks were still asleep, but the handful that were active came within a couple of metres of us. Every time this happened I froze, pretending to be invisible, but they didn't care one iota about us. It was an incredible experience.
The most popular tour on Isabela is Los Tuneles, a boat journey around the southern coast of the island. On the way out we passed by a pile of rocks in the middle of the sea, which was home to a large population of blue-footed and Nazca boobies (we still haven’t found that elusive red-footed booby). Further on were the tuneles, a labyrinth of short lava rock walls shaped by the water into a series of tunnels and arches. Somehow the driver expertly navigated the boat through the constricted waterways without hitting the sides once, which amazed us immensely. The scene was otherworldly.
We all jumped off the boat to explore the maze on foot, trying not to get caught on the cacti that grew on top of the rocks. From here we could see baby black-tipped reef sharks and sea turtles swimming through the channels, giving us a preview of what was to come. At one stage we came across a blue-footed booby sitting on a nest. While we gathered around, it suddenly stood up to reveal its eggs (and blue feet) below. It was like it knew what we wanted to see. In the distance, sea lions and fur seals lazed together on the warm rocks.
Then it was time to snorkel. The water was the clearest we had seen and swimming along the channels and under the arches was a fantastic experience. A few snorkellers ventured through a 5-metre underwater tunnel (I was not that brave; Danny was) to find a pod of white-tipped reef sharks. One of the sharks came out through the tunnel to visit us remaining scaredy-cat snorkellers before returning to its family. In a nearby cave we saw 2 of the biggest stingrays I had ever seen in my life, and later on a pair of smaller rays swam by. Again and again we found sea turtles, including groups of 4 or 5 nestled together on the ocean floor. At the end we ventured through mangroves, where we spotted a large seahorse attached to one of the roots. We could now tick off seahorse.
Back on dry land we hired mountain bikes and headed west along the picture-perfect coastline. The sand-filled road made it difficult to manoeuvre the bikes or gain any speed. On the way we stopped at a lagoon to look for flamingos but they weren't showing themselves today. Unexpectedly, though, we did see giant tortoises crossing the road. No matter how many tortoises you see, you never get tired of watching them.
Our destination was the Wall of Tears, a crumbling stone wall that serves as a reminder of the atrocities that occurred here. In the 1940-1950s, Isabela was home to a prison. The inmates were forced to build a wall for absolutely no reason other than as a form of physical labour. Many people died during their time here. The wall, several metres high, is the only surviving evidence of the prison.
Above the wall was a long climb to a lookout, from where we could see out to the coast as well as across the island. The pale green terrain was perfectly flat except for a couple of small volcanoes on the horizon. The biggest volcano, Sierra Nevada, was tall enough to be obscured by clouds. Despite the flatness it was still quite pretty, with mossy trees extending out for eternity under the overcast sky.
