7-26 Day 8 in the Galapagos

7:30 am
Los Lobos Island

We are having breakfast now, we just returned to the boat from Los Lobos Island. This is one of the older island and as a whole, the archipelago moves 5 centimeters per year east towards South America, with older ones at risk of eroding away. When we landed at Los Lobos we saw many things, I can finally understand why people say you get tired of the sea lions, the island is covered with them, we also saw some young boobies. Their feet are normally grayish when they are young. There were many sea lion pups as well. The marine iguanas were so cold this morning that instead of laying on the rocks for warmth, you could see them hiding under them to stay warm. There were also a handful of frigates around, while we eat breakfast, the boat will head on to Sante Fe Island, we will do lunch at noon and from there a wet landing where we will see Land Iguanas and Giant Cactus, I can’t wait for the Land Iguanas. The more I see on these Islands, the more I seem to be drawn to them. Like Darwin before me, I am blown away by the experience and perhaps this will shape my thoughts much as it did his, from an unfortunate distance. Larry said it best when I asked if he would come back, said “yes, this place is enchanting”, as we now sail on the Encantada.

1:50 pm
Sante Fe Island

We will be snorkeling at two and then a land tour.

7:00 pm

Snorkeling was cool, we went of the dingy in two spots, managed to see some great fish and a tortoise. We also got to swim with 4 sea lions. Truly amazing, I only hope that my underwater photos come out. After that we came back to the boat for an hour or so before we were set to head back. We opted for a jump from the top deck. It was fun, yet again in our group of 12, only one or other did it with me, although a third did it later when we returned to the boat.

After we landed on Santa Fe Island, we found ourselves yet again in the middle of a sea lion colony. We spent a little time there before hiking along the island. I realized we have hiked an average of 2 miles a day since getting here. On the way in we saw a Hawk with another bird in his claws, as well as a white tipped reef shark. The cacti here are twice as tall as a man or higher, quite impressive. We also saw our first Galapagos Snake and Land Iguana, but out attention was quickly stolen by a Rice Rat who was busy at work eating a lava lizard. Awesome. From there we saw more and more sea lions; There was a cool sea lion skull that I was able to photograph though.

This is our last night before heading home in the morning, but first one more island, North Seymour Island. It is a 6am wake up.

What will I miss, damn, everything, all the islands, animals, the boat, guides, passengers. This place will stay with me forever. I was told if I return to the islands, my guide will name one after me, Isle Miguelito.

What am I looking forward to most? Nothing more than a nice hot shower… and Jane… Heaven. :)

So I am off to pack. We are filling out some paperwork now and then….. One thing I will saw, food was tremendous, and they did their best to cater to each of our eating habits, even providing me with cheese less versions of some of our food.