Turtle Surprise

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Galapagos Sea Lion Play!

A good night's sleep, as no sailing until 4am, after sleep became difficult due to the rough waters! Arrived around 6ish at Santa Fé, a very beautiful sheltered bay in the northeast, mostly covered by giant Opuntia cacti, (a prickly pear cacti unique to this island).

The water was a crystal clear turquoise colour and warm - just perfect for snorkelling. We had a good breakfast, fresh fruit and empanadas and tried a local fruit juice called Naranjilla, the appearance being a cross between an orange and tomato. Then we took the pangas across to the island, and spotted a giant turtle on the way. We walked around the island, tonnes of sea lions here, one barking and following us! They were very playful, swimming in circles and many offspring, although a few arguments taking place! Some of the cacti had formed picturesque archways, with the beautiful bright blue dramatic sky and sunlit clouds above. The wildlife consisted mainly of Land Iguanas, Lava Lizards and giant grass hoppers. In our opinion one of the most beautiful bays we had visited on the archipelago.

Then we returned to the boat and went snorkelling, a fantastic experience. There were loads of shoals of brightly coloured tropical fish (too many to remember all of them), but a very pretty glittery blue fish visible, (which our fellow crew members named the disco fish in our limited knowledge). Also present were trumpets, sharks, parrotfish, Angel fish and even the young playful sea lions joined us. We got back to the boat, enjoyed another hot chocolate, Ellie feeling slightly disappointed not to have swam with a turtle. Then Ellie was called out by some of the remaining snorkelers, who had discovered a turtle. Swallowing lots of sea water in order to swim out towards the turtle, she was eventually picked up by the panga and delivered to the sea turtle. Ellie got within half a metre of the turtle by diving vertically downwards, such a lovely creature - a huge highlight of the trip!

Then we set sail again towards San Cristόbal, the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, quite populated, situated in Wreck Bay. Here visited the interpretation centre, which portrayed the Charles Darwin theory on his revolutionary work on natural selection, and the various conservation methods being put into place, very informative. Charles Darwin drew is theory in 1835, the resulting Origin of Species, which underlines the different ecosystems on each island, resulting in its own unique adapted species, many of which are endemic or now endangered.

After we had an hour of free time in the town, so we headed towards a cafe overlooking the beach. The beach was scattered with barking sea lions, some a little aggressive, and one a very cute wrinkled baby. We also spotted a Brown Pelican and a Blue footed booby resting on the jetty. We caught the panga back to the boat, and were welcomed with pizza and a few new crew staff. A number of people decided to snorkel one last time in the very cold refreshing bay - you can't beat it!

We watched the sunset over the ocean, and relaxed, our last full day in Galapagos - wish we had longer! A few shooting stars visible from the top lounging deck and a beautiful full moon, clear skies great visibility. We enjoyed our final 3 course meal, this time a toast to the crew with a strange green alcoholic drink. Tonight all the crew were smartly dressed in their white suits, our final night aboard the boat. That night we set sail at 11.30pm and arrived at our final destination at 6am.

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Photos

Baby Sea Lion
Look at those wrinkles!