After returning to the Samba from Fernandina, we motored across the strait back to Isabela for a panga ride along the coast at Tagus Cove.
Interesting coastline with lots of caves and fallen boulders. You can really see in these pictures that we are in the cool dry season by the lack of leaves on all the trees. In the warm wet season, their summer, our winter, everything is lush!
One of the ideas of our ride along the coast was to see if we could spot any Galapagos Penguins. Most were still out to sea feeding but we did run across one or two in the water and a couple on land. This was just a precursor to a ton more we ended up seeing just the next day!
After lunch it was on to Urbina Bay, just a short distance south.
We landed on the beach in Urbina Bay in the hopes of seeing some Turtles. We did see one way back in the brush, just not a good photo. We did, however see some other interesting things!
This was the only ghost crab I saw in the Galapagos. Even though they are out during the day, they feed mostly at night, staying close to their holes in the tidal area since they are non swimmers. Look closely at the photo and you can see their eyes on long stalks allowing them to see 360 degrees. They are also the fastest moving of all the crabs and very shy.
We also saw several more of the land iguanas on our hike.