January 19 – Iguanas have the right-of-way

Crikey!! During the night the wind blew hard against the Hotel Dolphin as the rain came down. The surf roared. By morning, you couldn’t tell anything had happened in Puerto Villamil, Isabela Island, Galapagos.

Kathleen and I took the morning and meandered about the outskirts of the little sea coast town. At Iguana Crossing, a boardwalk off the west end of the main drag made for an inviting walk along and through a couple of lagoons. Iguana Crossing was aptly named as Marine Iguanas sauntered across the sandy road from the boardwalk. On the Galapagos, iguanas have the right-of-way. The boardwalk turned out to be a nice path to explore the plants and wildlife of Isabela. Here I'm walking among Mangroves. Interestingly, they have a tree, which is related to poison ivy. Yeah, your presumption is correct. The tree is poisonous to humans, causing a rash and blisters. Giant Tortoise are immune to the poison and eat the leaves and fruits.

We came upon this juvenile heron. Having no identification guide, the young adult could be any of 2 to 3 species.We came to the Giant Tortoise propagation center at the end of the boardwalk where, as at Darwin Station on Santa Cruz Island, the reptiles are hatched, raised, and released on to the appropriate island. In the case of Isabela, the largest island in the Galapagos Archipelago, five sub-species of tortoise exist.

We walked out of the tortoise propagation center on to the road and continued further on. We came to a quarry and found Greater Flamingos foraging in some ponds. During our observations they got into a tiff about something, most likely a territorial thing. Hence the ruffled feathers.Kathleen and I walked back to Puerto Villamil via the beach. Along a number of places we were the only humans in sight. For the afternoon we booked a tour of the bay and snorkeling. We boarded a small boat and our guide/captain did his best to convey to Kathleen and I what we were seeing. Blue-footed Boobies, Galapagos Penguin, and Galapagos Fur Seal to name a few. And the ever present Marine Iguana. Kathleen and I stepped off the boat for stroll on a trail circumnavigating an islet. Iguana and colorful crabs were in close for viewing. Some of the Marine Iguanas were the size of dachshunds.After our walk we boarded the boat and went off into a lagoon for snorkeling. Our guide jumped in too and helped point out a number of fish. He would name them by what Kathleen deduced as names the locals used. They were pretty to look at anyway.

By late afternoon we were docked, and Kathleen and I headed back to town. Showering in our room we found the water to be slightly salty and not warm or even remotely hot. We speculated on the availability of freshwater.

Dinner and bed rounded out our day as we had a half-day tour to a volcano the next day.