Isabella, Galápagos, Sunday, 13th December, 2009

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They promised us a sunrise between twin volcanoes, but the wake-up call didn't arrive and when I stumbled out of bed just after 6 I understood why; we were behind schedule and in any case, the peaks of Isabella were swathed in cloud. After a couple of cups of most delicious hot chocolate, I went back to bed! After anchoring in Tagus Cove we were taken by Zodiac, first to see a few penguins and flightless cormorants, then to the landing point. With a good 1m swell and a steep rock on which to land, it was somewhat problematic, though in the end, easier than it looked. The lava was quite grippy, so there was little chance of slipping once you jumped. Once again, the weather improved as time passed, and it was quite hot as we walked slowly up the trail, snapping away as we went. The target was a ridge, from which we could look north over vast lava flows from (I assume) Volcán Darwin. It was also mighty windy up there! Before lunch there was a chance to snorkel, but the water was too cloudy to see much at the first site, and at the second the swell meant there was a real risk of getting washed onto the rocks, which wouldn't have been nice, so we rather quickly gave up. Just before getting back into the boat, someone pointed out a shoal of single-portion-sized silver fish swimming directly below us. No idea what they were.

Volcán Ecuador	Penguin	Cormorant	Ash Strata	Strata and Surf	Steep Landing!	Lava Lizard	Dragonfly
Darwin Lake	Trees	Hillside	Locust	Scalesia	Lava flows	View from the top	Worn Trail

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