The shore was very rocky and the sand was black (i.e., not very fine and not very comfortable to walk on), but the rest of the walk around the island was fairly easy.
Isabela was also our first opportunity to see land tortoises. These were actually small compared to the ones we would see later, but they were still pretty big and very cool to see.
My ongoing quest to get decent bird photos continued. I don't believe we saw any birds we hadn't seen before that morning, but I was still able to get some decent shots.
There were a number of land iguanas hiding in the bushes on our walk, so this was a fairly typical scene:
We spent some time walking around in the rocks/tide pools at the end of the walk. Crabs were particularly abundant.
Our afternoon stop, Fernandina, was fascinating simply for the sheer abundance of wildlife, particularly marine iguanas. They hang out in the part of the island we visited in the hundreds. It's hard to believe until you see it. There were other things to see, too.
Sea lion:
Iguanas are pretty lazy creatures. Their favorite activity seems to be basking in the sun.
They frequently pile on top of each other in order to add to the warmth.
And I'm really not kidding when I say that they were everywhere.
Again, I never did figure out what these guys were, but their eyes are great.
It took a lot of effort, but I finally got a decent photo of this dragonfly I saw flying around.
The flightless cormorant, a very unusual looking bird.
Sea lions.
Lava cactus is pretty unusual looking, and true to its name, it grows right on top of hardened lava.
A whale died on the beach. In order to keep its skeleton from washing away, some naturalists moved it further up the shore and reassembled it. It was bleached brilliant white by the sun.
Be sure to check out my other Ecuador/Galapagos entries if you haven't already.
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