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. 

Galapagos Islands day 3 Isabella Island

I took the Ferry to Isla Isabella – it was a bouncy ride that took a little over 2 hours.  I went to drop my stuff off at my hostal – Paraiso de Isabella and they had my room ready even though it was only 10:30!   I walked to see the flamingos and the tortoise breeding grounds. The flat shelled ones were my favorite! 

the flat shelled ones were my favorite

Then I walked 5k each way to the wall of tears.  The wall was built over 14 years in the 1940s and 1950s by the prisoners (the island was a penal colony). It's a stain on the island's history because there was no purpose to the wall - just to punish the prisoners by making them haul sharp lava rocks in the heat. Thank goodness it was overcast because even without the sun I was hot and got a little burned on my arms. 

This guy didn't seem thrilled to see me!

Galapagos day 2

I went to a tour operator in the morning to plan my excursions, then I walked to Tortuga Bay.  It was about 2.5 km each was and it was a very peaceful walk.

There were tons of marine iguanas here!  They get out of the cold water and warm up with each other. 

There were also a ton of crabs and some nice scenery with cacti. 

It was a really nice walk to a nice beach.  It kept raining off and on and was a little chilly so there weren't a lot of people actually in the water.