We started the day with a bumpy 2h-speedboat ride to Isabela. This island is bigger than Santa Cruz and has fewer human inhabitants but maybe more dragon like inhabitants. When we walked to a place called Pearl Shell we already got greeted by a group of those fascinating iguanas relaxing in the sun. Right next to them a small group of seals occupied the end of the wooden boardwalk leading through the mangrove forest. One even blocked the stairs down to the lagoon but luckily there was a second entrance.
Since we had first learned about those swimming iguanas in the Imax cinema in Lucerne, we were fascinated by them. They are a perfect example of adaption and change. When they arrived on the islands they looked different and did not feed underwater. But as the algae offer a diet rich in nutrition they learned to dive and feed from them. And when we snorkeled in the little lagoon suddenly one of them passed us swimming. We followed him and observed him while he was eating and swimming until he left the water to warm up and digest in the warm sun.
When we tried to leave the lagoon an entire family of seals had blocked the boardwalk. And as the father wasn’t happy about our presence, we had to take a little detour through the mangroves to pass them. Once back on our path we took probably one of our longest beach walks ever to the wonderful Playa del Amor. It’s a beautiful walk with a nesting area of the marine iguanas at its end. At least a hundred animals were chilling on the rocks and we couldn’t stop starring at them and taking photo after photo.
On our way back, we realized that we had gotten up early, snorkeled in the cold water and walked quite a distance. And therefore, right after dinner we felt into our bed and slept deeply, even tough it was only 9pm.
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