During the night our catamaran left Fernandina Island and returned to Isabela Island, dropping anchor just off Tagus Cove on the northwestern coast of the island.
We got up early for a 6:00 AM breakfast, and by 7:00 we were in pangas on our way to a dry landing at Tagus Cove.
Tagus Cove was visited by Charles Darwin in 1835 and has always been a hideout for pirates, whalers, and other sea voyagers. The cove gets its name from a British ship, the Tagus, that anchored there in 1814 looking for some of the giant tortoises to replenish their food supply.
Starting in the early 19th century, visitors to this site began carving their name and the year into the cliff. (It just takes one to start a trend.)
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The oldest is this one: 1836.
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The practice was outlawed when the Galapagos National Park was established in 1959-1960, although I see "Feb 1974 Oceana" on the right. Clearly this was before tourists had to be accompanied by a naturalist!
