Our first excursion today was a hike at Punta Suarez where we were greeted by an adorable sea lion pup. There was also a huge bull sea lion patrolling the waters and barking nonstop, marking his territory for all to hear.
Adorable sea lion pup
After we hike a short distance along the beach, we saw a massive pile of marine iguanas just laying on the side of the path. There must have been at least a hundred of them just clustered together, some lying on top of others.
Big pile of marine iguanas
Further along the path we saw a family of blue footed boobies, with a father sitting on top of two chicks and a mother standing guard nearby.
A happy family of boobies
We were so close to this family yet they were totally unperturbed and sat there peacefully. I really can’t describe how amazing this is.
There's another baby booby under there as well that's hidden from view
Then our next sight was two sea lion pups playing together and snuggling next to each other. It was just too cute for words.
Seriously cute pups
As we moved inland, we came across the nesting grounds of the waved albatrosses. These birds are huge! Their chicks are the size of turkeys and not much more attractive. They’re brown and fuzzy and move clumsily across the ground.
Freaky looking waved albatross chick
We saw many adults though soaring gracefully overhead; the area is known as the albatross airport. We had some incredible views as we hiked along the cliff, watching the waves crash into the rocks and a blowhole spurting water high into the air.
Birds flying off the cliffs
The albatrosses weren’t the only birds nesting. We came across a Nazca booby (the green footed booby) incubating an egg.
Nazca booby sitting on an egg
After we returned to the ship and had lunch, we headed to Gardner Bay, a beautiful stretch of beach where more sea lions were lounging. This was our first opportunity to snorkel so we opted to practice from the beach first before taking a zodiac to a large rock off the shore.
Sea lions laying on the beach and a rainbow in the distance
The more experienced snorkelers went deep water snorkeling at another location, but because this was my very first time snorkeling, I wanted to try in shallow water first to see how I would react to it. Water, as many of you know, is not my friend. However, I loved snorkeling from the beginning and we soon ventured out to the deeper rock. The very first thing we saw? A gigantic stingray sitting on the floor, half covered by a rock. It was HUGE. We also saw tons of colorful fish and it was absolutely thrilling for me. I’ve been bitten by the snorkeling bug.
School of surgeonfish
As if the hiking and the snorkeling wasn’t enough, Josh and I also signed up for kayaking for later in the afternoon. The ship keeps six inflatable kayaks that are built for two people. They’re much wider than normal kayaks, and you sit on top of it rather than in it, so it’s much safer as there is less chance for the kayak to tip over. However, they’re also harder to maneuver. We went in circles for a bit before we finally got the hang of it.
Exploring caves in kayaks
We kayaked around a small island, even venturing into a cave to see some of the rock formations. All in all it was a tiring and activity packed day but we saw some truly incredible things.
Breakfast:
Smoked salmon and tomato on whole wheat toast, watermelon, french toast
Lunch:
Octopus, crusty french bread, a potato thing with guacamole, watermelon, beef with peppers, chicken stew, yuca
Rice pudding with tree tomato compote
Dinner:
Prosciutto with melon and papaya
Chicken in garlic sauce, potato wedges, asparagus
Perfectly rare seared yellowfin tuna
Apple crisp with strawberry ice cream