Galapagos Day 2 - Wild Animals at Tortuga Bay
Tortuga Bay has a gigantic, perfectly preserved beach that is forbidden to swimmers. It is preserved for the wildlife where many marine iguanas, Galapagos crabs and birds are easily observed along the volcanic rocks on the beach.
There is a 1.5-mile walking trail covered by giant cacti and tropical island trees, and the entrance of this trail is right around the corner of our Airbnb stay.
We set out in the morning with water, sunscreen, a baby carrier and of course my camera. It was an enjoyable but slightly sweaty 30-minute walk.
When the path finally opened up to the white beach, I couldn’t stop smiling. The view was incredible.
It was a heavily cloudy day. The color of the sky, the ocean and the sand blends perfectly and harmoniously together. It was very serene and surreal.
We encountered quite a colony of marine iguanas, birds but only one sleepy sea lion. We were told possible sighting of sea turtles, and sharks but didn’t see any as we were not in the water.
Different from the ocean side where water could be choppy, the bay side water was extremely calm, perfect for kids to step in and play.
Apollo and Orion jumped right in a hole, and transported sand (or volcano mud) in and out. It was their favorite moment, and certainly my favorite picture time of the day!
On our way back, Orion got cranky for his nap and was carried all the way back in the baby carrier with daddy. I had to engage Apollo to count lizards along the same 1.5 mile path. He was in high spirit and diligently spotted 25 lizards although our goal was only 10.
In the afternoon, I arranged all the boat trips with local tour agencies on the town’s main road, Baltra Avenue. More wild animal trips and photos are coming along soon.
See more posts about our family trip in Ecuador.
