Galivanting thru the Galapagos & the Amazon
Day 12 - On Board the Carina (Isabela: Tagus Cove & Fernandina: Espinoza Point) - Saturday, December 25, 2021
We had spent a quiet night here in Tagus Cove & woke to a beautiful day. We're ready for a new adventure!!
There were a couple of small boats in the Cove when we headed out, but they had been out early & were already loading back up. Glad that OAT, Luis, & our Captain let us sleep "late."
It was a very short ride to the small dock & easy disembark to shore. Luis had us head on up the stairs to get out of the way.
We spent a little time looking at the graffiti carved in the rocks. The oldest date from the early 1800's, but you can see a few from recent years (it's now illegal of course, so we didn't add anything to it!!). Some of the ones on the high cliffs surrounding the cove look like they would have been extremely dangerous to accomplish! The things people will do! This cove was originally documented in 1814 and was named after a English warship that visited here looking for large tortoises. Tagus means tiger in Spanish and is also a river that flows through Spain & Portugal.
We continued up the stairs & onto a steep trail for views of the lovely protected cove down below.
The trail continued upwards for a view of Darwin's Lake. This is a saltwater lagoon formed high above tidewater. Darwin did visit here on his voyage, presumably looking for a sourse of fresh water. Scientist think the salt water was originally trapped from tsunamis or landslides from Fernandino eruptions & just gets saltier was the water evaporates.
We continued on to the peak to be rewarded by stunning views of the island around us. There was a hawk waiting for us at the top and we had seen various finches along the way. We took turns getting pictures at the peak - not one of our most photogenic Christmas photos, but certainly one of the most interesting locations!!
The hike back down was uneventful. We did notice the sap running from a few trees that Luis said was toxic & would burn it you touched it. Doesn't keep the Tortoises from eating the fruit from it, though.
I noticed a little Lava Lizard as we were continuing back to the dock. While we were waiting for the dinghy, I walked around the short coastline trail & found a Flightless Cormorant nest. She was not worried about me in the slightest! It was a nice change of pace to get out & hike a little!
I've posted a checklist map from ebird for give you an idea of the length of our hike. The Carina is located where the squiggles are in the center of the cove & we took the dingy to shore, then walked the path from there. A couple of miles maybe? With a few hundred feet of elevation. My Fitbit wasn't working anymore, so couldn't get any kind of accuracy on distance. It was a nice walk though!
The day was absolutely gorgeous!! The water was blue & clear. A perfect morning in the Galapagos! Probably in the low 80's!
Then our first real excitement! Luis asked if anyone would be interested in snorkeling. Only 4 of us were (George & I, Joanne & Sandy), but they were willing to take the time to let us participate. Originally planned on snorkeling right there in the cove (it's a common dive site), but the Captain wanted to cross over to our afternoon docking location at Fernandino, so while we were getting fitted for our wetsuits & fins and changing, we made the half hour cruise across the Bolivar Strait.
Jonathan piloted the panga & we just went a short distance to the shore.
Luis had George jump out first to be our safety net! He was ready & willing & jumped right in! Shortly he said I could jump in also & although I was a little anxious (it had been a couple of years since we've snorkled), I too jumped straight in. The water was very cold, but the excitement of snorkeling in the Galapagos quickly warmed me up & I totally forgot about any discomfort. At first he had let us out in the deeper water & we couldn't really see much of anything. There were tons of small fish all around, but my pictures were really lousy.
He gave us a little time to get oriented, then they moved the panga into shallower water & called us over. Immediately we started seeing lots of HUGE sea turtles. It was incredibly exciting!!!!
I would look above the water to get oriented & then back down to see the amazing action in the water. I got the one good picture of the marine iguana swimming with us! That was really cool. George saw a penguin, but I missed it. The sea turtles were so close that we had to arch our backs to keep from riding them! They were so so so big - 300 or so lbs. It was just an amazing experience. The 2 girls were pretty uncomfortable. Luis ended up getting them in the water a few minutes just one on one with him. In the meantime, George & I were in the water for about 45 minutes or more. We felt very comfortable. I have had problems with my mask fogging up in the past - even the last time we were here. But the soap they had us use this time kept my mask crystal clear. We had brought our own mask & snorkels.
Sure glad of the wet suits. Not only due to the temperature of the water, but because of scraping along the algae covered rocks. Included this last picture just to show how green the algae was. Had hoped to see the marine iguanas actually eating, but didn't get any photos.
When we finally got back in the panga, we were hyped big time! Just couldn't quit smiling! It was awesome awesome awesome!!!!!
Back on the Carina, we had showered & dressed & enjoyed a lovely lunch of pizza! Still on a high, we took a short nap & were soon back in the pangas for an afternoon excursion on Fernandino.
The weather was glorious as we motored over to disembark on a wooden dock in the mangroves that was guarded by lazy sea lions! They didn't even move as we stepped over & around them on the dock.
We followed a oddly marked trail around Espinoza Point. We were the first to land at the dock, but we saw several other boatloads of folks heading to the shore behind us. Luis kept us out of their way so we didn't have to put on our masks, but it felt odd to be near other people. We've been isolated for several days! Felt kinda like the difference between when we were on safari in Southern Africa & when we visited Kenya & Tanzania! Anyway, we stopped to have a look at this whale skeleton Someone had put it back together to give us a semblance of the size & shape.
The Marine iguanas were totally camouflaged. It was like they have developed skin to match the terrain....or was the terrain developed to match them?
Also got our first glimpse of the true Lava Cactus. It is a specific species of cactus that grows in clumps directly on the lava. Very strange looking stuff.
Our walk continued out onto the point. The stark desolate beauty is a little chilling. The clear water shows off the sea lions playing along the shore. The white sand is rough & packed.
Luis pointed out a few birds wandering out on the rocks - a Lave Gull and then a Wandering Tattler. They were too far away for pictures, so thank you ebird!! My trusty binoculars at least let me verify them!
Iguanas lined up like they were washed ashore by the tide. Why do they do that???
Really enjoying the sunshine & blue water. Note that our silly guide was barefoot! On this hot lava beach! Made me think of Alan Johnstone & how he always goes barefoot if he's given a chance. I did too when I was little, even on hot asphalt, but not anymore! I was happy to have my hard soled sandals! Enjoyed seeing the sea turtles up on the beach enjoying the warmth & the sun.
And loving the silhouette of the bigger ship further out from the Point, between us & Isabel.
We had walked about an hour & a half out to the point & back. Luis had managed to keep us away from the crowds of folks from the other ship for our entire time! Thank you Luis!
Back at the boardwalk dock, we sat a bit & waited for our dinghy. The sea lions had moved off into the edge of the mangroves, but they were still keeping an eye on us!
We were back on board the Carina about 5pm. Had our regular meeting to discuss the day's events & the plan for tomorrow during Happy Hour. Then a lovely relaxing dinner. Tonight we had shrimp in garlic sauce (even I liked that!!!), a selection of vegetables & a 2 really interesting salads - one with artichokes & one with egg plants! This chef is amazing! Dessert was a cooked banana with whip cream. Very yummy! As we left for our cabin about 8pm, we noticed that we could see puffer fish gleaming in the water beside us. George got his tactical flashlight & we started spotlighting the fish! We called the others out to join us and Luis started pointing creatures out left & right - Golden Rays, Flying Fish, more Puffer fish.
Then realized it was clear & that we could see stars, so we all went up on the top deck to look. Luis turned out the lights and we spent quite a lot of time looking for the Southern Cross. Our Astrological apps wouldn't work because we couldn't hook up to the internet, so we could never find it, but we found Orion's Cross and Scorpio. Of course this picture doesn't show them, but you can get the idea of how it was a totally black sky with just these beautiful points of light above us. Magical!!!
Luis was heading downstairs when he started yelling for us to come look! He had found a HUGE Galapagos shark swimming beside the ship. Must have been at least 7' long! We could see him gliding away for a long time. What a wonderful way to finish up the day! We retired to our cabin contented & tired! Long, delightful day!
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