Day 326: Isabela Island – Day 2
Today we booked a half-day tour to hike the rim of two volcanos: Volcán Sierra Negra and Volcán Chico. While the height of the volcanos is around 3,700ft, our shuttle bus brought us to 2,700ft, so we only had to huff it up a third of the mountain. We were bit disappointed when the agency picked us up in the morning and discovered that our group was sold out to the max: 16 people! We were even more bummed when our guide started the tour by warning the group to stay together: apparently his group the day before had a couple who dawdled behind taking hundreds of pictures and made the entire group so late that half the guests missed their afternoon ferry! Sounds like the delinquents were arrogant jerks about it too, saying, “We paid for the tour – we’ll stay as long as we like.” Our guide reminded all of us that this was NOT a private tour. Ugh, sounds like *so* much fun.
After his speech, the guide directed everyone to use the restrooms before we started, as there were no facilities on the trail. Igor and Lindsay were getting antsy – the cool morning weather was quickly heating up – we wanted to start climbing as quickly as possible before it became unbearable! Our guide seemed to notice our impatience and said, “You can start if you like.” Nice! Turns out, his rules about “staying together” only apply to those lingering behind he couldn’t care less if you rush ahead!
Our guide gives us a stern briefing to stay with the group and to finish the trek ON TIME
Gearing up for the punishing equatorial sun: Igor dons his safari hat and Lindsay douses her face with globs of sunscreen
Morning hike to the edge of Volcán Sierra Negra
The crater of Volcán Sierra Negra – the 2nd largest caldera in the world
We beat the group to the first viewpoint, where we waited for the guide to catch up and give us info about the Sierra Negra crater. At 9.3KM x 7.2KM it is the second largest caldera in the world, after Ngorongoro in Tanzania (which is 20KM in diameter). Sierra Negra is the most active volcano in the Galápagos – it’s latest eruption was in 2005. There was no access to the barren interior of the caldera – we could only view the inside from the rim, 330ft above.
Once the group was ready to go, however, we suddenly found ourselves at the back of the herd – a foursome of Argentinean tourists in particular seemed desperate to be first! Even though they ran ahead, we soon caught up and passed them going at a steady pace. (Guess their mate boost wore off! Either that or the Argentinos got tired from carrying the heavy thermos in their backpacks. Seriously, we can only shake our heads at the ridiculousness.) At the next group break, we took off while everyone was still sipping water and didn’t stop until we reached the end of the trail. Sure we missed a bit of the guide’s commentary, but we got to enjoy the volcano on our own.
Stuck behind the group after a bottleneck at the mirador
With the permission of our park guide, we hike ahead of the group, soon leaving them far behind. Luckily, the volcano trail is well-marked with posts so we are able to enjoy the scenery in solitude
Unlike Sierra Negra, Volcán Chico didn’t have a well-defined caldera – it was just a huge, barren field of rocks, hardened lava flows and vents holes (some tiny, and some very big). The landscape was very otherworldly – the crunch of the volcanic rocks as we walked down the trail made it feel like walking on Mars or something. Whereas the trail on Sierra Negra had plenty of trees flanking each side, Chico was almost completely desolate – only a handful of Candelabra Cacti were able to survive in the arid environment.
Two lone hikers on the volcano trail
View of the Isabela coastline from Volcán Chico
The harsh volcanic landscape is slowly starting to soften: Candelabra Cactus manage to survive among the rocks and vent holes
The desolate view from Volcán Chico
We return down the trail with time to spare before our shuttle comes to fetch us. As we sit in the shade and prepare to eat our packed lunch, we are horrified when we see a starving stray dog. The poor guy was literally skin and bones. We instantly fed him our tuna sandwiches, and we suspect several of the other guests did the same. Poor thing – not sure if that will be enough to help him.