24  June 2008: We took a two-hour rough boat ride from the island of Santa Cruz to the beautiful island of Isabela, the largest but the least inhabited island of the Galapagos. We read that it’s one of the islands with spectacular beaches, bays and lagoons, and one that is brimming with a wide range of animals and plants. This is the place where we left with one of the fondest memories of our round-the-world adventure, and one of the top places we missed - and will miss - the most.

That two-hour boat ride was on a small boat, carrying around 10-12 people including us. It was an extremely rough ride - it’s so rough because the boat goes at full speed on over the waves, and since it’s a small boat, every time there’s a wave, it lifts off and then lands with a splash into the water. The people sitting at the front of the boat were literally in the air half the ride as the bumps threw them up off their seats and then slammed them back down. Sitting on the back was just slightly better and we only got lifted off our seats on the slightly larger waves. Definitely not for those with motion sickness, or kids or older people.

These are all the islands of Galapagos, and Isabela is the largest one. It’s uncanny how much Isla Isabela resembles a seahorse. Fernandina and Isabela are two very active volcanic islands. The rest of the islands are the tips of large submarine volcanoes (or uplifted submarine lava (for example Baltra, Seymour, Sante Fe. Isabela is approximately 1 million years old, and it was formed by the merger of 6 shield volcanoes - Alcedo, Cerro Azul, Darwin, Ecuador, Sierra Negra and Wolf.  All of these volcanoes are still active, except for Ecuador.

Puerto Villamil is the main settlement areas on Isabela  island.  It is a very small quiet town with a laid back atmosphere.

There’s hardly any tourist shops here, and it’s not bustling like Puerto Ayora in Santa Cruz, but it is because of this peaceful and untouched surrounding that we decided to come to Isabela to stay for 7 days - and to see the famous wildlife in  Galapagos.

Hotel Albermarle, where we stayed

The hotel owner Max is a friendly young Brit married to an Ecuadorian, and this 1-year-old hotel is one of the few hotels on the whole island. We had to use dial-up internet for our work; although the connection was terribly slow, it enabled us to work on our businesses every single day while there. We must be the only people in Galapagos who weren’t on a pure vacation but no complaints.

A plus of this hotel is that they provide you with free drinking water since the water from the tap is brackish water.

 View from our room

 This is the only playground on Isabela

The Isabela Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus albemarlensis)

The marine iguanas are of a different subspecies in Isabela and they are the largest in size here!

 Grace and the marine iguanas around

 

Marine iguanas have a pronounced crest which is most prominent on the head but runs all the way down their back and tail

 A molting iguana, shedding off its old skin

 A Marine Iguana walking past Pedro

The Marine Iguana feeds almost entirely on red and green algae, but is also known to consume its own faeces as well as those of sea lions and crabs.

Many find it ugly and scary, but we think it looks so beautiful

 Grace in Puerto Villamil - The sign behind says “Isabela Crece Por Ti”, which means Isabel grows for you.

 A new house coming up

Concha de la Perla is a place near the harbour of Puerto Villamil where we could snorkel. We frequently took a 30-minute walk from our hotel to that mangrove lagoon.

 This is what we saw on the way to Concha de la Perla

Tall Giant Prickly Pear Cactus

A boat that’s been cut in half; we never figured out why

 Lush green vegetation on both sides of the dirt road leading to the harbour

We heard a sound like a child screaming, but after looking around, we saw it was just a sea lion  moving around in the mangroves, just inches from us and looking at us with such gentle round eyes. These sea lions are used to humans around, so you can be very close to them and not frighten them.

Cloudy skies over Concha de la Perla

There are two main seasons during the year in Galapagos even though it lies near the Equator. The dry or “garua” season runs from May through November, and the warm-rainy season runs from December through May. We were there during the garua season; the skies were covered with the early mist called “garua” and there was usually fine drizzle in the morning. Not good lighting for taking photos. It is also during this time when the seas are moderately stronger with surge and choppy waters.

 Pedro snorkeling in Concha de la Perla

 

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