Travel to Isla Isabela

Today we are going to travel to Isla Isabela. We will have to take 5 different boats trips to make it to our destination. We got up this morning at 5:30 to get ready to make the boat to Santa Cruz. Our taxi was going to pick us up at 6:30 to take us to the tourist dock but never arrived. We had to walk with our suitcases and back packs to the dock in the rain. Bummer. When we arrived we had to go through a luggage checkpoint to make sure we were not carrying any prohibited fruits. They keep a tight watch to make sure there is nothing that will endanger the fauna and flora from island to island.

Waiting to board

Our boat for the trip.

We chose to ride on the upper deck of the boat for the two hour ride to Santa Cruz. In Santa Cruz we had to take a boat taxi to get to land as our could not dock at the pier.

We had five hours to spend in Santa Cruz before we caught our boat to Isla Isabela.

 We walked around town and found the tourist information office where we found a nice book with maps and attractions on the islands. As we walked around we found a hotel that had rooms for $30.00 a night. We think we will stay there when we return to Santa Cruz. We found a little restaurant on a side street and had a great lunch. Charlie had a shrimp/rice dish and I had an incredible ceveiche de camerones.

At 2:00 we took a water taxi out to a boat for the trip to Isla Isabela. Again, we asked if we could sit up top, behind the captain. Otherwise, you sit in the bottom of the boat with 15 or more people crowded into one cabin and you can't look out to see anything.

 While crossing to Isla Isabela, we listened to the pilot's salsa music as he pointed out a variety of sea life, dolphins jumping, sea turtles, a penguin swimming, a marine iguana and lots of sea birds and flying fish. A great little private tour pointing out islands as we pass.

When we arrived on Isabela we took a taxi to Calita Iguana where we are staying. The place is right on the beach. The beach here is beautiful. It is all sand, only a few out crops of lava rock and NO sea lions. You can walk for miles on the beach. Tonight was a full moon. Lovely!

Calita Iguana