Saving the Best for Last – Last Day in Isabela

As it was our last day in Isabela, we knew we should be cleaning up the boat and prepping for the arrival of Les and Rose at the end of the week.  But, based on our seize-the-moment current philosophy, we decided instead to cram all the last minute details of boat cleaning into one day and spend our final day here seeing the things we had come to the Galapagos to see.

One of the things that we had really been looking forward to seeing were the Galapagos Penguins, which often could be seen at Isabela.   Unfortunately, this year the penguins were further up the coast in the cooler water, and we had seen only 2 penguins here, and not even at the same time, so it could have only been 1 penguin we’d seen twice!  We also were hoping to see the Doctor’s bird (Master and Commander 🙂 ), the flightless cormorant.  Then we heard of a trip being planned with Julio and Paco by another boat in the anchorage, and they were looking for several more couples to come to help spread out the cost…..This trip promised both, so we and Spruce jumped on it immediately!

What a trip it was!!  Julio’s boat took us up the west coast of the island, and he delivered everything he had promised and more!  First, the scenery was exactly what we had imagined the Galapagos would be….Stark and wild, with waves crashing ashore onto huge and jagged volcanic boulders…. Cerro Azul jutted her peak into a crown of clouds, while stretches of verdant green were interspersed with big races of black past-volcanic flows down her flanks.

And in the water, whales…….As we sped up the coast, a shout of “Ballena” was heard and a spouting Sei whale (or Fin whale – they are difficult to tell apart) was spotted.  From that point on until we made our first stop at Playa Perro, we spotted numerous Sei whales, many of which came very near to our boat.  Also on the way, we spotted several of the flightless cormorants on the rocks and swimming in the shallows.  Reaching Playa Perro, though, was where the cormorants were best seen.  There were several on the rocks and swimming, and one further up with a nest.  Here we snorkeled, being careful not to get too close to the birds, but certainly getting a wonderful view of them……very interesting to watch them, with their way too small wings, and how they swim underwater like little torpedos!

Back in the boat, we turned back towards Puerto Villamil.  The day had been sunny and warm, but as we left our anchorage, we could see the clouds and threatening rain to come.  No matter…..Our next stop was simply too amazing to let the rain interfere – in fact, it made it that much more surreal.  Caleta Iguana was found back down the coast, in through the breaking waves, and protected by the rocks and reefs.  Paco said that it is really tough to get in on a rough day, but as today was extremely benign seas, the entry was possible.  Making our way into the caleta, the scenery was primeval…..green studded cliffs rising straight from the ocean into the sky, skirted with black volcanic rocks, garnished with shades of gold moss, and all surrounded by the blue sea.  All of us oohed and ahhed as we entered the caleta which was tiny in comparison to its surroundings, but it was the real gem here.  The little bay was quite literally filled with mating marine turtles…..You could practically walk across the water on them!  These guys were large, too!  And standing on the rocks were……penguins  :)…..There were lots of them, looking like they were loving the fresh water rinse the rain was providing.  While the others jumped into the water to snorkel with the turtles, I really enjoyed just watching the penguins and taking multitudes of pictures.  I even got one of a mother with a very young little guy tucked between her feet.  There were also several Galapagos fur seals napping among the rocks with the penguins.  Magical, indeed….

On the way back to the harbor, we went into the Tuneles, which we had visited earlier but the others hadn’t.  This time the tide was almost at its lowest point, making the arches and swim-throughs that much more dramatic.  It’s a beautiful area.

Finally, after a full day with so many wondrous things seen, we arrived back at Mystic Moon just as the sun was setting.  We were tired but happy, feeling that in our time here, we had seen the best that Isabela had to offer and perhaps a peek at the real Galapagos.  What an amazing place!   It was with a bit of sadness in our hearts that we began stowing our gear and preparing our boat for departure with the coming dawn tomorrow.  We would miss this place and our new found friends here, but Santa Cruz still begged to be explored, and better yet, Les and Rose would arrive and our thoughts would start to turn to our passage west.