Tag: sea lion

Galapagos: Day 8

May 4. We are up before sunrise. At 6:00 AM we board the pangas for a wet landing on Isla Mosquera, a small island just north of Isla Seymour. Here we find some very curious young sea lions that come to check us out.

One of the young sea lions came right up to my toe. There were also a number of mother sea lions with pups.

Then it’s time to say goodbye to the Galapagos. One week seems like too short a time. Our days were packed with activities from dawn to dusk, and yet there is so much to see. At 10:00 We’re on the plane to Quito.

Galapagos: Day 3

April 29. Wakeup call is 7:20am with breakfast at 7:40. I’m getting quite used to the fresh fruit for breakfast: watermelon, pineapple and papaya, not to mention a variety of other selections including pancakes, rolls, yogurt, granola, eggs and sausage.

At 8:30 we climb into the pangas for a ride to the beach. We’re going to the Post Office. This is not your ordinary post office. In 1793 James Colnett, a British sea captain put up a barrel. The idea was that lonely sailors could deposit mail here and passersby would pick up mail they could deliver at their convenience. No postage required.

We dropped off three postcards and picked up three postcards we could deliver. One card with an address in Benicia caught my attention. I have a good friend in Benicia, and I thought this would be a good excuse to get together. So, once we’re back home I send my friend Dan an email saying I have a piece of mail from the Galapagos Post Office to deliver to somebody in Benica. Dan writes back and asks if it is addressed to Jane. Sure enough! Jane is his granddaughter and Dan had deposited the card on a recent trip to the Galapagos. What a funny coincidence.

Our panga ride included traveling along the shoreline to watch for wildlife.

Pelicans, sea lions, crabs, blue footed boobies and iguanas. I was also intrigued by the cactus which looked half Saguaro and half prickly pear, the Galapagos prickly pear.

At 10:30 we were back in the water snorkeling. We were hoping to find turtles, but we did not have much luck.

After lunch the ship weighed anchor and we made way for Isla Isabela. More photos for the day are available in an online gallery.