Southern Isabela Island
The quiet and picturesque port town of Villamil was named after General Villamil who dreamed of a prosperous island economy. He encouraged settlers to establish farms and fishing enterprises in Galápagos. In the 1940s, however, Southern Isabela was the site of a penal colony for between 200-300 of the most dangerous criminals who were sent out from mainland Ecuador. The “wall of tears” stands as a testimony to the cruel punishment that was inflicted on the criminals; they built a wall of sharp lava rocks that is 7 meters high, 7 meters wide and 80 meters long. When a section collapsed in the mid 50s the project was abandoned. Some of the Islander guests took a taxi ride 7 kilometers out from town along the beautiful beaches and coastal mangroves to visit the wall with me this morning.
About half of our guests joined Elizabeth and Lucho for a hike up Sierra Negra Volcano that was alternately wet and muddy and then dry and dusty. Energetic kids, teens and young adults led the hikers on narrow trails up to the rim where they had a spectacular view of one of the largest calderas in the world. After a short break to eat the slightly smashed, but yummy, sandwiches under a huge shade tree, they hiked down to Volcan Chico a rough lava terrain that resulted from an eruption in November of 1979.
Back at the pick-up truck taxis they eagerly guzzled the cold beer and colas I had waiting for them, and then came down to town where they chose to visit the tortoise breeding center, go for a swim, or return to the ship. Everyone was covered with mud and dust but happy for having made the hike and seen both the lava wonderland of Volcan Chico and the magnificent views from the rim of Sierra Negra.
The day passed quickly and we had several choices of activities. Many of us went to the tortoise breeding center in the morning, and then hiked out to a marvelous and expansive white sand beach where we swam or hung in a hammock or strolled along the sand. Those interested in birds looked at the gulls and shore birds, the kids played in the surf and everyone had an enjoyable time.
In the afternoon Rafael and I led two groups across a rough lava islet in search of marine iguanas and resting white-tipped sharks. Two were seen sleeping in a tidal crack by some of us; the rest of us saw an amazing number of little hatchling iguanas, several of the huge adults and a couple of the ubiquitous sea lions. From the Zodiac we found a group of 22 penguins! Rarely are these little birds seen in a group this large so we took many photos!
The quiet and picturesque port town of Villamil was named after General Villamil who dreamed of a prosperous island economy. He encouraged settlers to establish farms and fishing enterprises in Galápagos. In the 1940s, however, Southern Isabela was the site of a penal colony for between 200-300 of the most dangerous criminals who were sent out from mainland Ecuador. The “wall of tears” stands as a testimony to the cruel punishment that was inflicted on the criminals; they built a wall of sharp lava rocks that is 7 meters high, 7 meters wide and 80 meters long. When a section collapsed in the mid 50s the project was abandoned. Some of the Islander guests took a taxi ride 7 kilometers out from town along the beautiful beaches and coastal mangroves to visit the wall with me this morning.
About half of our guests joined Elizabeth and Lucho for a hike up Sierra Negra Volcano that was alternately wet and muddy and then dry and dusty. Energetic kids, teens and young adults led the hikers on narrow trails up to the rim where they had a spectacular view of one of the largest calderas in the world. After a short break to eat the slightly smashed, but yummy, sandwiches under a huge shade tree, they hiked down to Volcan Chico a rough lava terrain that resulted from an eruption in November of 1979.
Back at the pick-up truck taxis they eagerly guzzled the cold beer and colas I had waiting for them, and then came down to town where they chose to visit the tortoise breeding center, go for a swim, or return to the ship. Everyone was covered with mud and dust but happy for having made the hike and seen both the lava wonderland of Volcan Chico and the magnificent views from the rim of Sierra Negra.
The day passed quickly and we had several choices of activities. Many of us went to the tortoise breeding center in the morning, and then hiked out to a marvelous and expansive white sand beach where we swam or hung in a hammock or strolled along the sand. Those interested in birds looked at the gulls and shore birds, the kids played in the surf and everyone had an enjoyable time.
In the afternoon Rafael and I led two groups across a rough lava islet in search of marine iguanas and resting white-tipped sharks. Two were seen sleeping in a tidal crack by some of us; the rest of us saw an amazing number of little hatchling iguanas, several of the huge adults and a couple of the ubiquitous sea lions. From the Zodiac we found a group of 22 penguins! Rarely are these little birds seen in a group this large so we took many photos!
