Day 327: Isabela Island – Day 3
For our second day-trip in Isabela, we booked a snorkel excursion to Los Tuneles, AKA “The Tunnels.” An open-air bus picked us up from our hotel a little after 7:30AM and drove us to the pier where we directly boarded a speedboat (funny how the local tour operators are allowed to use the dock – when we arrived a few days ago, everyone had to pay an extra USD $1 for a water taxi, claiming the dock was not big enough for the ferry boats). The group size was pretty manageable: two families with two kids each plus a backpacking couple. Per usual we were asked to wear ridiculously oversized life jackets, at least until we were out of the harbor – once we were out of sight, we stuffed them under our seats for the rest of the day.
Los Tuneles are located in a protected bay full of shallow, clear pools of water, surrounded by a labyrinth of stone arches created by lava flows. The area is only accessible by small boats as there is a gnarly breaker to navigate around to reach the calm inlet. Before we had a chance to jump into the water, our boat pulled up to the rocky ledge and allowed us to disembark for a short walking tour. The stone bridges that make up the tunnels were incredibly beautiful, and the visibility of the water was so clear, it was like looking into an aquarium!
As our boat drives into the Los Tuneles area, we see dozens of male Blue-footed Boobies diving head-first into the water, trying to catch fish. Since the males have a slightly smaller beak they must gather more momentum and dive deeper – up to 3M! – whereas the females can snare larger fish at a shallower depth with their longer bills
Brown Pelican and Great Blue Heron sitting in the mangrove trees near shore
Our boat slowly meanders its way through the shallow maze of Los Tuneles, with the cloud-covered volcano in the background
Los Tuneles – naturally occurring stone tunnels formed by lava flows
The best part about the tunnels walk, however, was the ability to get up close to the Blue-footed Boobies. Sure, we’d gotten a chance to photograph these guys on Seymour Island as well, but the boobies on Isabela let you get *really* close! These guys also seemed to be gearing up for mating season – we found a lot of male/female pairs perched around the tunnels. Unfortunately, none had yet made it to the dancing stage yet (where the boobies will repeatedly lift their bright blue feet as high in the air as they can, showing off the healthy, attractive color to their prospective mate – a process that can last for hours) – instead we saw a lot of disinterested females trying to take a nap.
A male Blue-footed Boobies tries to show a female that he is interested in her, but she pretends to be asleep – poor guy!
Igor’s photoshoot with a male Blue-footed Booby
Igor getting close to a female booby – the male gives him an eye as if to say, “back off, buddy!”
After about 45min of walking, we returned to the boat and motored off to our first snorkel spot, within the tunnels area. The water was incredibly clear, but unfortunately we didn’t see anything more interesting than some schools of large Surgeonfish. The second location was much better: our guide took us to a warm, shallow mangrove forest that was just teeming with wildlife! Because the water here was so shallow and murky, the fish were much safer from predators, so it was like a nursery for just about everything! We saw sharks, a seahorse, plenty of fish, and more turtles than you could imagine! Best snorkel location of the trip! Well, at least so far…
Clear visibility for schools of fish at Los Tuneles
The mangrove forest is a bit murky, but full of life! Our guide finds a seahorse hiding near the mangrove roots
So many sea turtles, munching on sea grass
Igor swimming with sea turtles
A group of a dozen White-tipped Reef Sharks hide on the seafloor under a tunnel
We returned to our hotel around 1PM. We decided to lounge about in the shade for a few hours, waiting for the afternoon heat to break before venturing out again. In the afternoon, we headed back out to the island’s trail system, this time taking the route to the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center. We arrived a few minutes before closing time, but the ranger let us come in for a quick walk-through anyways. We’d already visited 2 other tortoise centers at this point, so we were pretty quick about it. The return walk took us through a pretty lagoon where a large population of birds were milling about in the late afternoon light.
Taking a mid-day siesta in the hotel common area to relax in their beachfront hammocks and use their fast Wifi
Late afternoon walk to the island’s Giant Tortoise Breeding Center (the logo says it all!)
We don’t see any amorous tortoises, but we see a pair of ducks violently doing the nasty during our walk back! Dude nearly drowns his lady in the process!
Pretty pink flamingos in the Golden Hour