01/06/2019 – Galapagos, Ecuador

We woke up after a great sleep, near to Rabida island which is a red sand area from the iron in the ground. We had breakfast and then went by dinghy onto the land where we had a beach walk. We saw sea lions, iguanas and crabs. We also saw blue footed boobies, pelicans and frigate birds – and witnessed a feeding frenzy between these birds and the sea lions, all after the same fish breakfast!

A view of our holdings in the background. A pelican and Galapagos sealion on the shore.

A sinlge flower had fallen into the opening of this cave.

Blue footed boobie!!

A Blue footed boobie diving for fish!

We saw a Galapagos hawk soaring high in the sky above us. Then we got our snorkel gear on, the water was colder than yesterday so the visibility was also a bit better. We saw loads of fish and even some baby sting rays too! The time goes so fast when you’re down there, on what feels like another planet. When we got back on board we had a snack of devilled eggs, doritoes (plus some other stuff I couldn’t tell you what it is but it is delicious!) and some strawberry juice. Their culinary skills are absolutely impeccable, especially if you take into account we are on board a boat and with limited supplies. We left after our snack, and motored near to another island ‘Rocus Bainbridge’ we saw a load of flamingos perched around the lagoon! Then we anchored up next to our next destination the ‘Chinese Hat’ – it is in exactly the same shape as a Chinese hat! We had a fajita lunch, and then spotted loads of fish and a huge shark circling the boat. It was a Galapagos shark, and was bigger than me! We then had the opportunity to snorkel and kayak (a little way away from the deep water the shark was in.) Josh and I snorkelled the entire time. We saw loads of white tipped sharks, about 10 in total. Most of them were sleeping in the shaded cave areas but a couple of them came out a bit more curious. It was so cool, they came so close to us! One of the guests got a bit spooked and had to get out the water and into the dinghy! We saw all sorts of fish and even a snake. When we got back on board Josh and I had a Jacuzzi to warm up a bit, whilst the boat started travelling towards Santa Cruz island (a specific trip so that one of the guests could get some phone reception and find out the football score – Liverpool won and he was happy!) I had a shower whilst the boat was moving through the choppy seas. We are bottom deck so I opened the blinds and could see the waves crashing against our porthole, it was so cool.

Waves on our window.

I feel very lucky I don’t seem to get too seasick like some of the other passengers who have been feeling a little queasy and having restless nights. Josh and I have been passing out like a light! Josh and I went and laid down on the bow of the boat as the sun was setting and watched the flock of frigate birds soaring above our heads. They have a 1.5m wingspan and were flying about one metre directly above our heads, crazy! We had dinner and then watched some flying fish from the stern of the boat, with a good 15 sharks circling around ready for their dinner, as well as a poor old sea lion who was holding its breath and hiding from the sharks under the boat, just popping its head up for some air every 20 minutes! We went to bed and the boat left for San Cristobel.