Snorkeling in the Galapagos

I didn’t sleep especially well and was awake at 4:30, so I went to the dining area and worked on writing this journal. On my way through the lounge, I noticed someone sleeping. I didn’t know who it was, but I suspected that it was one of the three sisters. I had several cups of hot water and enjoyed the quiet. The ship had anchored near Punta Moreno on Isabela Island, and the boat seemed to be more still in the water. After a while, Beth, the youngest of the sisters work up and told me that they were considering leaving the excursion if her sisters weren’t feeling better. She and I chatted for a bit, then Mary came down for a cup of tea and joined us.

We met for breakfast in the dining area for omelets, bacon, rolls and fruit. We were very happy to see that all three of the sisters were feeling much better after a good night of sleep and calmer seas.

Sea lion basking in the sun

After breakfast, we took a ride on the Zodiac (panga) boats to the offshore rocks around Punta Moreno where we saw the tiny Galápagos penguins, sea lions, hundreds of marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, flightless cormorants, brown noddies, pelicans, and especially green sea turtles. It was a great outing although it seemed odd to us that we would have penguins so near the equator.

The sisters were all feeling better but decided to take things a little easy today until they were confident that they wouldn’t feel poorly again. However, we learned that John in our group may have lost his passport. His wife reported searching every inch of their room without success. Willo promised to call the places that we passed through between the airport and when we boarded the Galaxy ship.

Cindy & Mark prepare to snorkel

When we returned to the Galaxy, we picked up snorkeling gear and rented wetsuits for snorkeling in the Punta Moreno area. We spent about nearly an hour in the cool water, but the wetsuits helped hold body heat. While snorkeling, we saw many fish of all description, Galápagos penguins and green sea turtles up close under water. Nothing seemed to be fearful of us and swam all around it. I got near a sea lion who seemed to want to play with me. The mammal was swimming all around me as if playing a game of tag. It was a tremendous experience. Since I was busy snorkeling and looking at sea life, I didn’t take my underwater camera. However, we plan to snorkel most days, I will take the camera along on other days.

Marine iguana

We returned to the Galaxy for lunch which was included a very well-prepared ceviche with local shrimp and octopus. The main course was a buffet of chicken, fish, yellow rice, plantains and discs of ground and seasoned garbanzo beans. Everything was delicious.

We had a little free time after lunch so some of the group visited or took a nap. Because the ship was next to the largest island in the Galápagos, there was little rocking and made moving about easier. Of course, Mary & Cindy played cribbage in the lounge. During this time, the ship was traveling north along the western side of Isabela Island toward Elizabeth Bay.

At 2:45 our guide, Willo, discussed the differences in marine and land iguanas as well as a few other Galápagos animals. At 3 pm we got back on the small boats and rode into Elizabeth Bay where there were hundreds of green sea turtles. This area is very shallow is allows the turtles in the area to sleep safely among the mangroves without fear of attack by orcas or tiger sharks. We saw hundreds of pelicans, boobies, shearwaters, penguins and other birds feeding. As we went into the cove, the turtles were everywhere. We also saw a few more birds that we hadn’t seen before. We also saw a few eagle rays in the water. It was a calm and relaxing place to enjoy nature.

We returned to the Galaxy Yacht and cleaned up for dinner. Willo had a brief meeting to discuss the plans and options for Monday. After the meeting we moved into the dining room for dinner. We had a salad appetizer then choice of roast chicken or pork on a bed of bed of risotto. Mary had the chicken; I had the pork, so we exchanged half of our meats and enjoyed both. Dessert was a small cream puff made to look like an erupting volcano.