Day 170, Year 1: An Easy Day
Date: Wednesday, April 5, 2006
Weather: Clear Day, Cloudy Evening
Location: Puerto Villamil, Isabella Island, Galapagos
After yesterday’s big adventure to the volcano, we took it a bit slower today. Heather and Jed visited the turtle hatchery and saw flamingoes in the lagoons on the way there. Mark and I stayed on the boat and did some chores. After Heather and Jed returned we all went out to Las Tintoreas. This is actually close enough to snorkel to if you are truly adventurous, but we took the dinghy for this first trip out. Las Tinoreas is a trail that leads you around the reef islets that protect this anchorage. On our way out there, we came across a very large group of golden cowrays. They are a mustard yellow and are a treat to watch as they move slowly through the water. Once we reached the trail head we followed the path around the volcanic landscape reef and enjoyed its many surprises. First, there is a fissure between the main islet and a small outer bay that is full of white-tipped sharks. They just sit there on the bottom as if napping through the afternoon. Some were five to six feet long. In this same area, we also saw one of the largest spiny pufferfish any of us had ever dreamed of seeing. It was probably 22 inches long. When we looked it up upon return to the boat, we think it was a porcupine fish. When this big guy entered the white-tipped reef shark area, they all scrambled as if they were afraid of it. Interesting.
As we continued our walk, we came upon a beach with lots of sea lions. There was a particularly aggressive male protecting his harem and we decided not to enter the water to swim with these sea lions. As we continued our walk, we came to another rocky beach area that is home to the largest marine iguanas we have seen here. We then headed back to the beginning of the land trail where we had left the dinghy and searched for a good place to snorkel. As we started out of the protected area where we had anchored the dinghy, and before getting into the water we spotted a very large stingray-probably three feet across. We think it was a diamond stingray and we not to see it again! Unfortunately, it was getting late in the day and snorkeling was not great, but I did get very close to the rock where the little penguins spend their late afternoon hours. I took this opportunity to observe them very closely from only a few feet away.
Evening was approaching so we all headed back to the boat and then went into town for dinner. At $2.50 for a complete meal, it is hard to pass up. We will spend one more day exploring here and then head back to Santa Cruz. Heather and Jed want to get in a couple of dives before heading home and that has to be done from the main island. They fly out on Tuesday and we will then begin serious preparations for the run to the Marqueses. It will be hard to leave here, but that time is drawing near.
