On to Isabella

Our last morning on the boat we set off early to see the mating frigates. These big black birds look prehistoric when flying, and are even more incredible when the gentlemen are trying to attract the ladies.

Every day for the mating season, the male frigates spend 20 minutes blowing up their giant red balloon necks.  These are scavenger birds, and get their food from others. Although they are usually flying over the water, their wings are not waterproof, so they don’t dive for fish. Instead, they steal them from the boobies and pelicans that do dive for them.

Soon after our hike, we were taken to the airport via dinghy and bus. Problem was, we weren’t going to the airport. So from there, we had to catch a shuttle bus to the ferry, and another bus across Santa Cruz to the town of Puerto Ayora. Once there, we bought tickets for the speed boat to the island of Isabella. We had to wait around for about 3 hours with all our luggage before the boat left, but we ate and tackled the internet for the first time in a week.

The two hour speedboat ride to Isabella wasn’t exactly fun, it was more a bouncy, back-breaking type of trip. But, once we got to Isabella, we found exactly what we were looking for. A laid-back, cool town perfect for a few days of rest and relaxation.