Dean & Ginny's excellent adventures...

Trip to The Galápagos--02/07: << Part 1 << Part 2 << Part 3 <<Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 >>

Close Encounters with the Sea Lions

<< Whether on land or at sea, the sea lions were unafraid of us. They looked so comfortable as they lounged around--only moving to flap away the flies.

The pups were comical to watch. Hey, that iguana is almost as big as the pup!

As cute as they were on land, they really showed off in the water even if some of us weren't comfortable with their friendliness right away.

This day we had many sea lions swimming with us. The photos don't begin to capture how much fun this was.

On another day, a single sea lion created a quite show for us: she did a flip under water, went into a crevice, turned circles while blowing bubbles, then swam straight up and out of the water, jumped a couple of times, and then repeated the sequence multiple times.

We were all amazed because this happened while we hovered in a circle above the crevice...

More on snorkeling below, but first the fur seals. They are technically also sea lions because they have external ear flaps. These guys are smaller, with a thicker double coat of fur. They were vigorously hunted for many years for their richly colored thick fur. They are not as plentiful as the sea lions, but with protection their population has recovered somewhat. They are nocturnal hunters and have larger eyes than sea lions.

Kique said that when he was growing up that they weren't allowed to have pets, so they played with the fur seals and sea lions. The sea lion cubs investigate his toes.

The excellent snorkeling provided us with much to see and each site afforded different habitats and conditions. Here we place our towels and gear in a cave on a black beach to keep it dry from the rain. >> Dean and I wore our skins to protect against sunburn and jelly fish stings.

<< Here we snorkeled in a wide cave with waves rolling through it, but most of the time we swam in open water. Either way there was lots to see.

These four golden rays swam by in formation like the Blue Angels. The southern ray has a different look. >>

A school of surgeon fish--so called because of the razor-sharp protrusions near their tails. This was one of the more common fish. >>

The guinea fowl puffer fish looks angry. >>

<< The damsel fish provides a clownish image with its yellow lips and blue eyes.

<< This gold and blue parrot fish was just one of many varieties.

A school of red bait fish. The seas are teaming with bait from plankton to sizable fish. This supports the birds, sea lions, whales, which we didn't see, and more. >>

<< White-tipped sharks were one of our more common sightings. Some were cruising, while others laid near the bottom.

<< A king angel fish scatters the school of bait fish. The sea urchins and sea stars provided color and background. Below is just a sample.

What colors! While the snorkeling was great, we broke away from the tour for a morning of diving.

On to the diving & more>>

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