Puerto Villamil, Isabela Island
Today was a great day in the living paradise of the Galápagos Islands. After a comfortable navigation, we woke up anchored in front of one of the most emblematic places of the archipelago: Puerto Villamil.
The first adventure of the day was a visit to the breeding center where we saw giant tortoises. The magnificence of these fantastic reptiles was surprising. The different populations of tortoises that we found in the area taught about the importance of the captive breeding program. During the visit, we learned everything about the restoration programs for Isabela Island and the importance of conservation for the future of the Galápagos Islands. One of the National Park Rangers let us check in on the development of giant tortoise hatchlings inside the clutch before they emerged to the surface.
The perfect complement to our fantastic breeding center visit was a stop at the flamingos’ lagoon. Here, the colors and the attractiveness of the birds amazed us. Continuing on our adventure, we had the opportunity to visit one of the most important places of the human history of the archipelago: The wall of tears. As we finished the visit, it was time to go and enjoy a fantastic lunch in the highlands.
In the afternoon the adventure got even better. The next challenge of the day was to hike to the summit of the Galápagos’ largest volcano: Sierra Negra. As we walked down the trail, we were surrounded by a deep cloud forest that was the home for many different land birds. We could hear them singing around us, and their callings were the perfect symphony for a fantastic hike. When we reached the summit we were astonished by the caldera. It was incredible to see all the clouds coming inside the caldera, and the lava rivers inside still looked fresh – as if yesterday was the last time the volcano erupted. The Galápagos Islands paradise is full of big surprises; all we did today was to discover a few of them.
