Exploring Isabela Island

We often get asked by potential volunteers "What is there do to in Isabela Island? Are there free activities? Are there tours? When is there time to explore?" The answers are: There's lots to do! There are free activities as well as tours! And we want to make sure you that as a volunteer you're able to experience the beauty of Isabela in your free time (afternoons and weekends).

Our incredible social media volunteers have put together a list of things to do in Isabela! Read on to learn more about their time exploring Isbabela Island. Thanks to Nicole, Rolph and Michelle for their input and photos!

Have questions? Contact us and we'd love to answer any questions you may have!

Free Activities:

Concha de Perla:

After taking Saturday to relax and walk around town, we decided to go snorkeling on Sunday. The best spot to snorkel in town is a small, sheltered lagoon called Concha de Perla, and is located next to the pier, about a 15 minute walk from IOI headquarters. It is free to get there and IOI has some extra snorkel equipment for the volunteers to borrow. Be careful walking down the path because you might find your way blocked by a sleeping sea lion or a stray iguana! 

I had been snorkeling there once before starting with IOI, and had been lucky enough to spot several beautiful eagle rays, dark colored rays with white spots. The second time I went (the first for the other volunteers), we got even luckier. We went at low tide, when the water is supposed to be much calmer and clearer. We spotted more eagle rays, a turtle, a sea lion, some iguanas, and, best of all, 5-6 tiny Galapagos penguins! The penguins were super fast, darting around and catching fish. They seemed quite unphased by the groups of people oggling them, and we got to watch them up close for almost an hour. One member of our group wasn’t a super confident swimmer, but at low tide the water was calm and shallow, and with her flippers and snorkel she didn’t have any difficulty. So far, this has been my favorite day on Isabela!

The Giant Tortoise Breeding Center:
Centro de Crianza Arnaldo Tupiza

We have a volunteer program at the tortoise center! Want to learn more? Visit our website: https://www.ioi.ngo/tortoise-center

Run and maintained by Galapagos National Park, the tortoise center is about a 30 minute walk from IOI headquarters.

In November 2019, IOI, Galapagos Park rangers, and Galapagos conservancy specialists, participated in a repatriation of 309 giant tortoises! This means that 309 giant juvenile tortoises were repatriated to their natural habitat in the south of the island of Isabela! This program of captive breeding and subsequent repatriation of tortoises is one of the most successful in Galapagos, and several populations of different species of tortoises have recovered. 

The tortoise center is in a sunny area with limited shade, so wear sunscreen and bring plenty of water! Visit our website for more information on our tortoise center volunteer program: https://www.ioi.ngo/tortoise-center. And check out the blog post from January with the inside scoop on volunteering at the center: https://www.ioi.ngo/blog/allageswelcome

Laguna Salinas:
”Flamingo LakE”

For an easy walk and great bird watching, you can head to Laguna Salinas, accessible in town down a road near Isabela Grill. There are various salt and brackish lagoons all over Southern Isabela where you can see a variety of coastal and sea birds. There are many brackish lagoons allowing Southern Isabela to be known for the largest concentration of flamingos in Galapagos!

Beaches:

There are beautiful beaches right in town, only a couple minutes walk from the main square! These are long, white sand beaches with beautiful blue waters. On most beaches you can find lots of crabs and iguanas on the rocks and you can (almost always) be guaranteed a beautiful sunset. Don’t expect to find a seat on the bench as the sea lions have usually snagged them!

El Muro de las Lágrimas: 
The Wall of Tears

We rented bikes for this excursion. The trail is 5km long and starts just past the trail to the Giant Tortoise Center. In total, the wall is about 6.5 km from IOI. I listed this as a free activity as it is possible to walk/run the trail, but it is somewhat long and hilly, so I would highly recommend renting a bicycle. The bicycles are generally $3 an hour or $15 per day, so they are still quite budget-friendly. Our trip took about 3.5 hours (although we made several lengthy stops along the way), so we paid $10.50. It is a fairly long ride with a lot of hills, so be sure to bring lots of water and try to go in the morning or late afternoon, when the heat is less intense. We left at about 3pm. It was still somewhat hot when we started but the weather cooled down pretty quickly and was a very pleasant ride after the first 45 minutes or so. There is also an option to take a taxi to the head of the trail to at least chop off the first 1.5km.

The wall rises from the middle of barren wilderness, near the base of a mountain. It was built from 1946-1959 by prisoners in the Isabela Penal colony as a means of keeping them busy. Many died during the harsh labor conditions surrounding the wall’s construction before the colony was eventually shut down for inhumane treatment of prisoners. The wall now stands in tribute to those who lost their lives to build it. 

Behind the wall there is a trail up the mountain to a lookout point at the top. There is another lookout just before the last stretch of the bike trail which offers similar views of Isabela.

Tours:

NOTE: All of these activities must be done with an organized tour agency as they are part of the Galapagos National Park. Prices below are based on Natural Selection tour company, near IOI, and tours can be arranged once in Isabela.

Las Tintoreras:

Price: $40
Approx. time: 3 hrs

Our first day in Isabela, we took a boat out to Las Tintoreras. This tour can also be done by kayak. Las tintoreras are a series of islets just south of Puerto Villamil. It is about a 10-15 minute boat ride to get there. We spotted a penguin on our way there! We did a short hike around the islet. We spotted several turtles and a couple of golden rays from the land, and we saw two turtles mating! The snorkeling was beautiful, with crystal clear water. We saw lots of turtles and starfish, as well as a couple of swimming marine iguanas. I also spotted a large, alien-looking yellow striped lobster, and one member of our group saw a shark!

Sierra Negra volcano:

Price: $40
Approx. time: 5 hrs

Sierra Negra, the Second Largest Crater in the World! One of five active volcanoes on the island of Isabela, Sierra Negra, is one of the oldest of the island and the largest in the Archipelago. It was about a five hour hike round trip, with a bit of an incline on the way up. We first hiked up to Sierra Negra to view the large, lava-filled crater at the top. Beyond Sierra Negra, the landscape grows more space-like with black reddish lava rock spread out in every direction, dotted with cacti. Volcan chico is smaller but more colorful, and just past it is a beautiful lookout over Isabela, from which you can spot Fernandina and Elizabeth Bay. I would recommend bringing sturdy hiking shoes, sunscreen, and LOTS of water for this tour, as the hike is fairly long and the heat may make you dehydrate quickly, maybe bring a layer as well since the area can be a bit cool and misty.

Los Tuneles:

Price: $110
Approx. time: 5 hrs

Our Los Tuneles tour was incredible. Los Tuneles are a series of lava rock tunnels about a 1 hour boat ride to the west of Puerto Villamil. We went on a short hike around and spotted lots of blue-footed boobies, and even a couple of their babies! The snorkeling here was also superb. We saw some white-tip sharks asleep in the caves formed by the tunnels, as well as rays, tiny seahorses, and several turtles, one of which was almost as big as I was! 

This was my favorite tour on Isabela and I would highly recommend it.

Tortuga Island Diving:

Price: $170
Approx time: 4 hrs

I went scuba diving on Tortuga Island with Isla Bella dive center. Both of our guides were friendly and experienced and went over the briefing in great detail. All of the equipment was functional and safe. I had found it hard to believe when the woman working at the dive shop told me I had a 90% chance of spotting a hammerhead on the dive, but we were not disappointed. We spotted 4-5 hammerheads, several giant manta rays, white-tip sharks, schools of barracuda, and lots of turtles! It was a drift dive so we were able to just relax and watch the wildlife as we drifted by. In between dives they gave us sandwiches and took us around the island to see the frigate birds, which were in their mating season, with the male frigate birds having huge inflated red chests. It was overall an incredible experience and a must-do for divers!

We hope this was helpful for potential and future volunteers! There are lots of other things to do in Isabela and on other islands, so make sure to only use this as a guideline and do research before you visit us.

Make sure to check out all of our volunteer opportunities in Galapagos: https://www.ioi.ngo/volunteer-galapagos and contact us with questions or to sign up for our newsletter!

Trekking to the Turtles

IOI volunteers join Galapagos National Park rangers and local community members on an exciting adventure to learn about sea turtle nest monitoring.
By Nicole Owens

Arriving to Barahona beach

IOI volunteers accompanied park rangers of Galapagos National Park, who traveled  from Santa Cruz Island, as well as some passionate local community members on a three day camping trip to learn about sea turtle nest monitoring.

The goal was to learn about green sea turtle nesting and how to gather useful information on their nesting habits to aid in conservation research. The green sea turtles are one of four species of turtle found in Galapagos.

Green sea turtles are endangered due to threats of habitat loss, predation and destruction of habitat due to introduced species (dogs, wild pigs etc), pollution and rising water temperatures. Over the past few decades, less and less of these marine animals have been arriving to nest on Galapagos shores, and national park researchers are hoping to identify the causes. In order to do so, they need more information. This information can be obtained by monitoring the turtles to obtain data such as the sea temperature, the location of the nest, the size of the turtle and the number of eggs laid.

Learning about turtle tracks, nests, and behavior

The volunteers and national park rangers embarked on a short boat ride to Barahona beach, a popular spot for turtle nesting, a few hours west from the town of Puerto Villamil. They brought lots of supplies to last all three days and set up camp just beyond the mangroves at the top of the beach.

The first afternoon, the park rangers took us on a walk down the beach, pointing out turtle tracks and helping us to identify whether the large pits in the ground were actual nests (usually with a large pile of fresh sand at the back to cover the eggs, and tracks coming and going in two different places), or just a body pit, a large hole dug by the turtle and then abandoned before nesting. They explained that the turtles usually leave a body pit if they decide the site is not suitable for nesting, generally due to the presence of vegetation, the temperature of the ground, or the density of the sand (too loose or too hard packed). The turtles can dig several body pits in one night, or loop around the beach and return to the ocean without digging anything at all. 

A park ranger from Galapagos National Park measuring the turtle after she’s laid her eggs

Turtles generally nest in the evening, so we went on late night and early morning walks (from about 10pm-12:30am and 5:30am-8am) to try to spot the tracks while they were fresh.  We wore dark clothes and used only red lights to avoid scaring the turtles, as they are unable to see the color red. We braved a steady rainfall and chilly winds the first night, but were rewarded with three separate turtle sightings. However, only one of them actually nested. We laid down at the edge of the nest, after the turtle had finished laying, to see into the cavity where the eggs were laid and counted all 83 of them! Then, park rangers measured the turtle and marked the nest with a stake. The rangers clipped a tag onto a less sensitive skin flap on the front flippers for tracking in the future. We returned to our tents drenched and covered with sand, but very excited by everything we’d gotten to see.

A park ranger gathering the bags of trash collected

The next morning, we woke before sunrise to go in search of more tracks. We spent the afternoon playing in the ocean and recovering on some much needed sleep. We spotted all kinds of marine animals, such as rays, turtles, pelicans, iguanas, and even an octopus! Later in the afternoon, we took a walk down the beach as a group to collect the plastic bottles and other garbage that had washed up on the shores of Barahona. We filled up at least seven large trash bags, and even found a refrigerator door! We went on a final monitoring walk that evening, before waking up bright and early to pack up camp and head home.

It was a very exciting trip and we learned a lot of new information about sea turtles, their behavior and their nesting. We hope to help maintain plentiful nesting sites on Barahona and the other Galapagos’ shores in the future, in order to allow these graceful marine animals to continue to play their vital role in the Galapagos and other marine ecosystems. 

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Fall Break stories and adventures

ITINERARY 1: CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN

By Claire Griffin, Study Abroad Student Fall 2019

As all 12 of us piled into the small vessel responsible for transporting us across the rough seas of the archipelago, we waved goodbye to our Isabela for the week. It did not take long to start missing our little town, especially in the comparatively huge and modern metropolises awaiting us in Santa Cruz and San Cristobal. We constantly joked about our case of micro-culture shock: “Are these roads ALL paved? Is that a multi-story building? Oh god A SUSHI RESTAURANT?!? We’re in Las Vegas!”

Our first 4 days of the journey took place in San Cristobal. Disoriented by the deceptively complex street layout (to be fair, anything more extensive than Isabela’s one main road feels complex these days) and a dwindling internet connection, we immediately got lost searching for our hostel. After moaning, groaning, and sweating under the weight of our bags, we finally arrived to our little slice of home at the hostal de Consuelos Gil. Unbeknownst to us, the Gils who owned the cozy casa were of the very same tree as the Gils in Isabela, whose members house a number of IOI students; as a result, we were practically staying with family! The following days were filled with souvenir shopping, exploring, and lots and lots of delicious food. One of our excursions included a beautiful drive through Cristobal’s highlands, with stops at a volcano crater and a tortoise breeding center, and ended at a pristine little beach (“Puerto Chino”) on the opposite side of the island. Even more exciting about San Cristobal was that we had the opportunity to meet up with other University of Miami students studying biology abroad at the island’s college (ran by University of Quito). It was great being shown around by a few familiar faces!

We spent one day in Cristobal scuba diving at Kicker Rock, also known as “The Sleeping Lion” in Spanish, with a great company called Gustavo’s Fishing Adventures. The topography of Kicker Rock was impressive alone, but the rich diversity of marine life complementing the rock’s elaborate underwater walls left us all in awe. Huge bait balls, hammerheads, barracuda, Galapagos sharks, manta rays, and more. The dive crew took great care of us both under and above-water (is there anything better than Oreos post-dive?), even adding an extra stop on a small remote island where a naturalist crewmember showed us around and told us about the local flora and fauna.

After our time in Cristobal, we headed to Santa Cruz for three days. We quickly discovered a new favorite spot on the island, the Santa Cruz Brewery, whose variety of house-made brews, board games, and amazing fajitas kept us coming night after night. When our group wasn’t dining or shopping, we were diving the amazing sites around Santa Cruz, including North Seymour and Gordon Rocks. Some only did one of the sites, some did both, but all had an amazing time. The most memorable moment in my dive experience was what we deemed “underwater rock climbing” at Gordon Rocks, and it looked exactly as it sounds. The undercurrent was so strong that day that we all had to tightly grip onto the site’s rocky wall to stay together, especially when we moved locations. The result was an activity akin to scaling a rocky cliff - if that rocky cliff were surrounded by fish, turtles, and the occasional shark!

Break ended with a cheerful and much-needed return to Isabela. While the week was full of adventures we’ll remember forever, we all agreed that none of the other islands compared to our very own “Queen Izzy” and its charming town, Puerto Villamil.

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ITINERARY 2-5: TALES FROM A LIVE ABOARD, FAMILY IN GALAPAGOS

Kaylie Anne Costa

“Welcome aboard the Galapagos Master! During fall break I stayed on a diving liveaboard exploring the Galapagos archipelago. We began our journey in San Cristobal. Two amazing dives at Baltra and a land visit to Seymour island where we saw frigates, boobies, land iguanas, and much more started the trip off with a bang. Then we headed to Darwin and Wolfe Islands, home to the largest shark biomass in the world. From endemic tiny nudibranchs, to schools of hammerheads, to safety stops with whale sharks, these two islands were more than a dream come true. …Oh and we also saw a pod of orcas. So cool! Next we sailed to the north end of Isabela island to Punta Vicenta Roca. We descended about 100 feet into dark, murky water and waited patiently. All of a sudden out of the dark blue emerged a mola. It came towards us and swam above us, right through our bubbles. That very same day we dove with the world famous marine iguanas of the Galapagos. The males dive down about 15ft and munch on the nutritious green benthic algae. We finished the trip with two more beautiful dives near Santa Cruz Island, then I raced the clock to make it onto the ferry to return in time for school the next day on Isabela. Best week ever!”

Meagan Ando

“During my fall break, I sailed for 7 days on the Reina Silvia liveaboard across the western route of the Galápagos Islands with my parents, who flew down from Jacksonville FL. We sailed from Santa Cruz to Floreana island, where we snorkeled, visited post office bay, and hiked up to the highlands. From there we travelled to Punta Moreno and Elizabeth Bay on the western side of Isabela Island, where we snorkeled with marine penguins. We visited Fernandina Island, where we spotted two Mola-mola, 2 Brydes whales, and got to snorkel with marine iguanas! We then travelled around the northern part of Isabela island and around to Santiago, crossing the equator twice. In Santiago, we hiked through a Frigate bird nesting site and a sea lion nursery and even got to snorkel with White tip sharks!! Then, my family visited my host family in Puerto Villamil and stayed for 2 days, in which we biked to the Wall of Tears and walked to the Tortoise Breeding Center!”

Max Braun

“For my fall break, I met my parents on San Cristobal to get on a liveaboard for a tour around the eastern islands of the Galápagos. We went to Española, Floreana, Santa Cruz, Santiago, and Genevesa. Some of the highlights of the trip involved diving in Floreana and Santa Cruz, seeing nesting albatrosses in Española, and seeing all three species of native boobies (Blue Footed, Red Footed, and Nazca) plus the rare Galapagos Short Eared Owl on Genevesa. It was a great way to see the eastern islands of the archipelago, and I was glad that my parents got to enjoy this special place with me.”

Agatha Freedburg

“For fall break, my parents came to visit me. I met them on Santa Cruz on Monday the 21st. The next morning we hiked to a place called Las Grietas, a picturesque ravine that you could snorkel in. I saw huge parrotfish and a moray eel! In the afternoon, we went to El Chato to walk through a 400 meter long lava tunnel and collapsed craters. Also while in Santa Cruz, we hiked the trail to Tortuga Bay and explored more of Puerto Ayora. After a few days there we returned to Isabela, where I introduced my parents to my host family, which was super cute! Later that same evening, we went to Sam’s restaurant for dinner with a couple friends, then to Uku Lounge for live music. On their last full day in the Galapagos, I took my parents along the boardwalk to the tortoise breeding center, then gave them a tour of Puerto Villamil. Later we met up with the entire group, most of whom had just returned from their fall break in Santa Cruz, at our favorite beachside bar.

My favorite part of fall break was when we went to North Seymour Island and saw many frigates, iguanas, boobies, lava lizards, and sea lions. We found booby nests and even saw part of the booby mating dance.”

We're back!

By Claire Griffin, Study Abroad Student Fall 2019

Welcome back to IOI’s blog!

Pardon the hiatus in posts; our group is just coming back from a jam-packed fall break, during which my internet connection went from abysmal to nonexistent. But we’re back and better than ever!

Picking up from where we left off, our class with Dr. Drennan ended with some amazing field trips and a number of interesting projects. We spent several days surveying the popular snorkel spot Concha de Perla, using waterproof data tables to document species diversity within the estuary.

We later embarked on a day long boat ride to the remote and beautiful western side of Isabela, where the wildlife was like nothing we had ever seen. Right off the bat, we had the rare and fantastic chance to see Galapagos’ wild orcas. The duo gave us a fantastic show, hunting and breaching amidst a huge flock of birds, and to our delight even came right under the boat to check out the 16 squealing humans on its bow. While topping orcas is near impossible, the day progressed with a number of other magical encounters: Galapagos penguins, flightless cormorants, pelicans, blue footed boobies, frigates, albatross, sea turtles, sea lions, iguanas, and even an elusive Bryde’s Whale!

Also within these past two weeks: the 10th anniversary of IOI’s inception! We celebrated with an all-day fiesta in the highlands, inviting the whole community out to enjoy all varieties of food, artisan goods, games, competitions, farmers markets, live music, and tournaments in soccer and volleyball. Most exciting, however, was the launch of a novel local agricultural program called “Maria Rosa.” This groundbreaking program creates a network for local farmers, referred to as “Red de Producción y Consumo Local,” to market their goods to local restaurants and businesses, and in addition provides courses on sustainable farming practices. Maria Rosa thus aims to be an emblem of local production and sustainability paving a bright future for Isabela and the community.

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The course finished with individual presentations on 16 endemic species here in the Galapagos. Each student conducted extensive research on their chosen species and presented on its geographic and ancestral origins, its speciation within the Galapagos, and its potential adaptations to and/or risks faced during periodic El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. I chose the Galapagos sea lion, and despite a heavy workload I genuinely enjoyed learning about the history and ecology of this charismatic species. Other project topics included everything from ferns to owls to iguanas, and everyone had a great time presenting on their chosen species!

After a tear-filled farewell to Dr. Drennan, we all set out on our various adventures. 12 of us stuck together to explore the other two main islands (San Cristobal and Santa Cruz), while the other 4 reunited with family members visiting from the US to then set off on their own expeditions, several embarking on weeklong cruises that explored the entire archipelago. Check out my next post (that’s right, you’ll be getting TWO in ONE WEEK!) to read student testimonials from both the 12-person trip and each of the individual trips. We’ll explore the myriad of adventures that Galapagos has to offer, and hopefully provide some insight for future Miami students and IOI participants planning their own excursions!

 Until next time,

Claire Griffin