Day 5: Isabella Island, Galapagos Islands

The Sierra Negra volcano in the distance.

Today was definitely a physically demanding day!  We hiked a volcano and snorkeled with some sea lions!  This is definitely a place I need to come back to and experience again.

Sierra Negra Volcano

Your last stop for directions and restrooms before the trail.

Today we hiked part of the Sierra Negra volcano, one of the most active of the Galápagos volcanoes.  There were sections of dislodged soil along the trail from a recent earthquake.  There was also an eruption recently on June 26, 2018, so there are still active lava flows.  This limited us to only be able to hike up to the caldera lookout.  

The hike up the volcano.  Some areas were steeper than others.

It was very misty and visibility was poor which is normal for that time of day.  Afternoons are the best for less cloud coverage, but the sun can get pretty intense that time of day.  We stayed at the overlook for a little while, praying for a break in the mist.  Our prayers were answered when a clear patch appeared finally appeared right as we were about to give up hope!

Right before I almost fell backwards into the caldera.

The outer edges are lush and green and the center was all black volcanic rock. This caldera happens to be the largest of all the volcanoes in the Galápagos as well as the shallowest.  The floor of the caldera is still covered in rock from the October 2005 eruption.   It was amazing!

The bottom of the caldera covered in volcanic rock from the 2005 eruption.

Guava trees along the path.

This was my very first time every seeing a volcano in person, let alone even standing on one!  I guess I had this image in my head that volcanoes are crazy tall, pointy rock formations, but this one is more of a gently sloping mountain.  At its highest point, it stands at only 3,688 ft.  It took us about 2 hours to hike up and 2 hours back down along the same trail.  There is so much rich and beautiful flora along the path, lots of ferns, mosses, and unusual flowers.  There was even that pesky and invasive - but delicious - guava everywhere.

Concha de Perla

A peacefully sleeping sea lion.

In the afternoon we had a spontaneous opportunity to do some snorkeling at Concha de Perla. There is a long wooden pathway that leads to the platform where you can get in the water.  The pathway is a very popular place for sea lions to nap.  We had to step carefully over quite a few but they were too busy sleeping to be paying any attention to us.

The walkway littered with adorable sea lions!

Scarlett making her way along the walkway to Concha de Perla.

One of the stairways down to the water.

At the end of the pathway there is a platform with a set of stairs on each side that allows you to go down into the water at low tides.  I'm glad I used the stairs because the water was freezing!  Since it is technically winter here, the currents are coming up from the south, bringing in some very chilly antarctic waters.  

Braving the cold, we had the chance to see all different kinds of fish, nurse sharks, sea lions, starfish, and other little sea critters.  It was so cute watching the young sea lions swim around with everyone in the water; they are such curious little things!  Scarlett actually only freaked out once but managed to do a little bit herself.  The flippers ended up being a disaster and she tried to drown me in an effort to stabilize herself.  We'll need to work on that...

A young sea lion hanging out on the steps.  He would sniff people as they went in and out.

Side note, I got these neat snorkel masks for us off of Amazon before we left.  They fit your whole face and give you a fabulous, unobstructed view of the water.  You don't use a mouthpiece in your mouth and instead can just breath normally.  The air comes in and out from an attachment that sits on top of your head with a ball that moves up and down to prevent water from coming in.  Best purchase ever.  There are lots of different kinds available, but the one we have is the Atlin Snorkel Mask.  The only thing we had to rent were our flippers (because I forgot to bring some).

I think we experienced all four seasons over the day and moved from desert to tropical climates every 10 miles. It’s like extreme Virginia weather.