Galapagos day 4 Isabella Island Los Tuneles

On the second day on Isabella, I went on a snorkeling trip to los tuneles.  It was the first time I have ever snorkeled in a wet suit since I usually snorkel in very tropical areas.  The lava tunnels were cool to swim under and it wasn’t too cold.   We saw some gigantic manta rays from the boat.  I also got to swim along with sea turtles, sting rays, white tipped sharks, sea horses, penguins, and tons of fish! 

I was fascinated with the blue footed boobies.  We went to a nesting area and saw them taking care of the eggs (the males and females alternate).  Their feet are blue due to what they eat and when they are young they are blue, as they get older the feet are more teal.

Top one is younger - it's feet are darker blue.
The bottom one is older - feet are teal.

When we were in more open water, we saw a ton of pelicans and penguins.

Penguins and Pelicans

I was supposed to catch the 2:30 ferry back to Santa Cruz and I had a ticket, but they didn’t have my name on any list.  Another woman had a ticket from the same place I did, but eventually got hers worked out.  I was doing my best to argue in Spanish but I’m not fluent.  The lady eventually had to leave to get on her boat and gave me a guilty look and said “I’m sorry” as she left and took her translating skills with her.  I called the tour operator but reception is terrible and they just kept telling me what boat I should be on and the people at the dock just kept saying my name wasn’t on it.  So frustrating.  I finally got on the last ferry out and it was another really bumpy ride back.  One thing that struck me as funny in the Galapagos was that for a place that is heavily based on tourism, people were not very nice or helpful.  When I talked to others on day trips they all had the same thing to say - that the tour operators give us very little information or inaccurate information.  so weird.  Mainland Ecuador is great!  People are so nice and helpful!  My hotel in Guayaquil let me keep my big suitcase there for 6 days for free while I went to the islands.  When I got back they got me to the airport for free even though I was no longer a guest.  They were super helpful.