February 27 – Isla Isabela

February 27, 2018 – Isla Isabella, Galapagos Islands
We had breakfast at 7:30pm.  At 8:30am we got into the Zodiacs to head to the island at Punta Moreno.
Isla Isabella is one of the two newest islands in the archipelago.   It has 5 active volcanoes on it.  The surface is mostly broken up lava and very hard to walk on.
Before we landed at the island we went by a rock where the giant  iguanas were sunning themselves.  Close by were a few Galapagos penguins who posed for us while we took pictures.   Juan, our Galapagos group leader, said there are only 900 of these penguins left.
As we headed in we saw a flightless cormorant  eating an eel he had just caught.   It was a dry landing but we had to climb a  hill of broken up lava boulders.  After hiking a bit and getting information on how the Galapagos islands were created, we came to a pond where a few wild giant tortoise live.  The entire hike was only three quarters of a mile but it was still strenuous because  of the terrain.
Back on the ship we quickly changed into swimsuits.  We were given snorkeling gear.  The water temperature was about 60° so most of us decided to rent wet suits from the ship. We snorkled for just under an hour and saw many fish and sea turtles.
After lunch and siesta time,  we loaded into the Zodiacs to see what was in the mangrove area of Elizabeth Bay.    We saw flightless cormorants,  pelicans perched in trees, herons, and sea turtles.
Back to the ship for dinner and  sleep.