Rabida, Darwin and Wolf Islands
RABIDA ISLAND
Rabida is also commonly known by its English name of Jervis Island. It has an area of 4.9 km² and a maximum altitude of 367 meters. Although Isla Rabida, just south of Santiago, is certainly not conspicuous in size, its striking color, central location, and wide variety of wildlife keep it from being overlooked. Visitors make a wet landing onto a remarkable maroon sand beach, sea lions and marine Iguanas rest close to shore, while brown pelicans, some of the Galapagos's largest birds, nest in the salt-bush area behind the beach. Behind this vegetation lies a small lagoon hemmed in with mangrove trees.
Galapagos flamingos used to breed here, but the recent growth of the sea lion population has driven them away. A short but somewhat steep trail from the beach leads to a peak overlooking the ocean, lagoon, and striking scarlet cliffs. The trail winds back to the beach passing through a neat forest of the aromatic palo santo trees. This portion of the island is also a great place to see blue-footed boobies, white-cheeked pintail ducks, and black-necked stilts. Clear and calm water, amazing reef fish like surgeon fish and pufferfish, and elusive sharks and manta rays make Rabida’s beach an ideal snorkeling area. Rabida is said to have the most diversified volcanic rocks of all the islands.
DARWIN ISLAND
Darwin is the northern most island and about 4 hours by boat from Wolf. With no dry landing sites, as this isle emerges vertically from the ocean, Isla Darwin’s main attractions aren’t found above the surface, but rather in the depths of the Pacific, which is teeming with a spectacular variety of marine life.
On the east of the island there is an underwater plateau where a prominent rock arch rises, Rock Arch. You dive on a steep wall which is dropping off. This is a place to see schooling hammerhead sharks which are being cleaned by King Angelfish or swimming off the reef in the blue. On the ridge you'll find large schools of fish like mackerels or blue striped snappers. Turtles, Mexican hogfish, Moorish idols, coronet fish, trumpetfish, parrotfish and green spotted eels and morays are encountered here. In the rubble on the bottom live flounders and octopuses. This is the main dive site around Darwin.
On this island you also can spot the endemic Darwin Mockingbird as well as swallow-tailed gulls, sea lions, red footed boobies and masked boobies. And while there is no real access to the island itself, a view from aboard your cruise ship is a treat enough. One thing that you do need to keep in mind when coming here is that this island is an expert scuba diving spot. The swells tend to get quite big and there are strong underwater currents, so it is key that you are alert all the time, when you are in the water.
WOLF ISLAND
Named in honor of Theodore Wolf, a German geologist, it is a small uninhabited island that rises steeply to 253m. As around Darwin, the water is several degrees warmer here than in the southern islands. Wolf is quite exposed with waves, surge and strong shifting currents, eddies and down currents.
Wolf Islands is home to a number of red-footed and masked booby colonies, marine iguanas, frigatebirds, swallow-tailed gulls and fur sea lions. The island is also the native habitat of one of the 13 species of finch found in the Galapagos. The Sharp Beaked Ground Finch, also known as the Vampire Finch, is called by this name because it jumps onto the back of its prey such as red-footed or masked boobies and pecks their flesh to feed on their blood.
Wolf is a very good place to see schooling hammerhead sharks and silky sharks. Because of the warmer water you will also find many warm water fishes found nowhere else. There are green spotted morays, trumpet and coronet fishes, schools of jacks, rainbow runner.
Also barracudas, tuna, big eyed jacks, blue spotted jacks, bacalao, salemas, goldrimmed surgeonfish and also marine turtles. Large pelagic fishes like whale sharks, Galapagos sharks, marbled rays, spotted eagle rays have also been seen here. On the island live sea lions and a lot of birds. An incredibly exciting dive zone for those who enjoy the marine world, scuba diving and snorkeling is an amazing experience in Galapagos.
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