Visiting Isla Isabela in the Galápagos Archipelago

Boobies, Penguins, and Sea-Lions (continued)

This is the calm lagoon fringed by mangroves at the end of the Concha de Perlas trail.		From the platform at the end of the trail we got a good view of a neighboring island, Isla Tortuga. All that's left is the fringe of an old eroding volcano.

A lizard perched on a rock alongside the path between the dinghy landing and the start of the trail.

After the sea-lions we intended to visit the white-tipped reef shark trail, but we couldn't find the landing in the labyrinth of reef islets. Due to shallow water this landing must be visited at high tide, and with the tide dropping we'll have to try again some other time. Instead, we motored over to the landing by the beach bar/restaurant then beached the dinghy and walked the nearby Concha de Perlas trail (which means "mother of pearl"). The trail led through dense mangroves to a wooden platform and ramp overlooking a pleasant salt water lagoon that was well-sheltered from ocean swell. The area was obviously a local swimming hole since there were several local folks hanging around and jumping off the ramp into the water. Frankly, it was a relatively uninteresting trail—just your basic hot humid mangrove swamp.