Tortugas, lobos marinos, cangrejos, iguanas y peces

After writing last night, we had a fabulous dinner of either fish or chicken, and then our Spring-Ford group spent the rest of the night exploring around the hotel. This island is full of life and completely safe at all hours. As the local guides have said, "Why would we do something bad? There is no where for us to go." Of course, we are still aware of our surroundings, but it is nice to have that extra security. We explored the pier and saw sharks and sea lions swimming, and posed with a pelican who was content with allowing us to snap as many pictures as we wanted. We then walked around and did some shopping before stopping for an ice cream on the way back to the hotel. I love having a small group of students on this trip that just want to participate and take advantage of the opportunities this trip has to offer. And, they are getting comfortable enough to use their Spanish! Yes, even our German student Dani is using Spanish to communicate. :-)

Today was the day of the boats, and I am sure tomorrow will feel the same. After breakfast at the hotel, we took a walk to the same pier as the night before for our departure to Floreana Island. We took a small taxi boat out to the main boat and started the hour and a half ride to the island. This is,and is mostly vacant of civilization, home to only 123 people. After taking some pictures on the dock of the first of many sea lions we would see that day, we took an open air bus up into the hills to tie a short hike to see the tortoises in a more natural habitat. Long ago, the Spanish and other explorers took the original species from the island, both as food and as pets, so the Darwin Foundation is trying to reintroduce tortoises and other animals to the island. The tortoises are in a large corral, to be monitored and encourage breeding. Tortoises have many natural predators, mostly because of their eggs, so they are trying to protect the tortoises. During our hike, we also learned about the history and lore of the island, including the ghostly whistles that can be heard, and the dentist who removed his teeth and those of his wife upon arriving on the island, and the prisoners who used to serve their time on the island. It was an interesting tale that only added to the beauty of this island. After a delicious lunch at the, what I believe to be one, restaurant on the island, we had time to swim and explore the black beach, from the volcanic stones. Some swam while others took pictures of the mother and baby sea lion playing and kissing on the side of the beach. 

Then, it was time for a short boat ride out for snorkeling. After going through the inspection station again, to make sure we weren't carrying any organic material from one island to another, we completed the taxi shuffle again and the short ride for snorkeling. It was my first time snorkeling, and everything simply took my breath away. While exploring under the water, the sea lions were so playful, spinning and twirling, swimming just a few feet away. The green sea turtles were so interesting to watch, as they ate the algae off the rocks and occasionally surfaced. The colors of the fish were so diverse and varied, from bright blue, to black with colored specks, to a striped, zebra pattern. A few of us swam down for a closer look, while the boys filmed everything they saw with the Go Pro cameras. Those videos will definitely be something to see. After about forty five minutes, we returned to the boat and rode a bumpy sea back to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island and our hotel. We have some free time before dinner, so most of snagging a shower, and we plan to go out exploring again after dinner.

Tomorrow we head to Isabela Island for more exploring, hiking, and snorkeling. We are certainly enjoying our time in this little paradise.

Hasta mañana