Bella Isabela

 Isabela Island has a totally different vibe to Santa Cruz. All the usual suspects are here: the blue footed boobies, sea lions and giant tortoises but there’s the added attraction of a 2 mile stretch of loveliness called the Playa Puerto Villami.  

 

Despite a lack of sun loungers, parasols and hippy hawkers selling crap jewellery (thank god!) this gorgeous beach gives the island more of a holiday feel. And that’s fine with us.

We make some really good friends on Isabela too...

David and Margo from Vancouver Island who promise to show us around when we're there in April. Here's Margo sampling cactus slime with Wend.

And the McCays from Colorado, living proof that blondes really do have (and are) more fun. 

This bunch of chancers amuse us at the fish market. Subtlety not their forte.

Beach life is all well and good but only a fool comes to the Galapagos simply to top up his tan, so we busy ourselves cycling, walking and – on one memorable day joining a boat tour to Los Tuneles – an incredible maze of arches, columns and rock pools formed only 6 years ago when lava from the erupting Volcan Sierra Negra reached the ocean.

The pools are home to a myriad of wacky wildlife (of course they are – we’re in the Galapagos). When we're snorkelling we see turtles (above), white tipped reef sharks, a huge stingray and the cutest seahorse. 

While from the boat it's the birdlife that takes centre stage. Penguins? In tropical waters? Very strange.

Galapagos yellow warbler. Again, not a lot of subtlety going on with that plumage.

We spot these nazca boobies from a distance. Smaller and far less common than their blue footed cousins they are still big on character.

On the way back our captain, a man I had foolishly placed my trust in, asks Wend to take control of the boat. Madness.

The trip is a highlight of our stay on the islands and it’s safe to say the islands have been a highlight of our time in Ecuador but then this amazing country is all highlights. My pal Keith summed it up most eloquently when blogging about the place a few years ago:

“If anything poignant can be said of a country blessed with something of everything - bustling town and laid-back country, rugged coast line, sandy beaches, humid jungles, snowy mountains and an almost unfair amount of wildlife, it is possibly that Ecuador doesn't have a USP, unlike sexy Brazil, proud Colombia or outlaw Argentina. It just has it all”

Colombia next. Another country Keith told us to go to. Maybe I’ll just cut and paste his entire blog and add some of our photos at strategic points along the way.