7AM wakeup and breakfast of bread and butter. At 8AM we had a wet landing on Rabida Island, and the hiked along the beautiful and surreal red sand beach. We approached to about 3 feet away from a resting sea lion pup, saw a sea turtle nest, and so many lava lizards! We also observed a brown pelican roost, and a juvenile mockingbird soliciting food. We hiked up to a gorgeous overlook and then back down to the beach for our first snorkel of the trip! From above we were able to see king angel fish, but my first fish in the water was an awesome streamer hogfish. There were also many yellow-tailed surgeon.
We returned to the boat at 1045 to cleanup, and cruise to Santiago Island while we ate lunch and had a siesta. Edgar is our cook- he made us snacks to come up to after snorkeling!
At around 230PM we snorkeled again off the boat, encountering much of the same species fish-wise, but also Galapagos sea lions!! One swam directly up to my face blowing bubbles- I know a threat when I see one, and backed off. We also saw both Pacific green and hawksbill sea turtles.
1530- underway on our way to James Bay, Santiago Island. We were lucky enough to see a manta jump! While cruising, a bunch of frigate birds tagged along with us.
We had another wet landing, then a hike on which we observed marine iguanas, mostly swimming or submerged. The sand on Santiago is black, and we were quickly greeted by sea lions.
We also saw “Darwin’s Toilets”- one of which contained an adorable fur seal, a shark and a sea turtle. We hiked back to the beach, and I continued to take photos while the other students played futbol.
A highlight of today was observing a sea lion pup nursing!!
We returned to Aida Maria for another briefing, and dinner at 630PM- of shrimp and rice with chocolate mousse and tea. Fabian- one of the crew members and bar attendants heard us singing “If you like pina coladas…” and made some for us! We went over our species lists, and then spent the evening relaxing on the foredeck.
RABIDA: 78.5°F, 87.5% partly cloudy, little wind-brown pelican-great frigatebird-blue footed booby-common noddy-Galapagos flycatcher-Galapaos mockingbird-small ground finch-medium ground finch-marine iguana-lava lizard-Galapagos sea lion-ghost crab-sally lightfoot crab-hermit crab-king angelfish-barberfish-yellow-tailed surgeonfish-wahoo-black-striped salema-giant damselfish-streamer hogfish-Panamic sergant major-flag cabrilla-bumpbead parrotfish-bluechin parrotfish-large banded blenny-leopard flounder-stone scorpionfish-hieroglyphic hawkfish-bullseye pufferfish-green sea urchin-slate pencil urchin-chocolate chip sea star-yellow bellied triggerfish-Galapagos garden eels-white tip reef shark-diamond stingray-cownose ray-stichopus (sea cucumber)
JAMES BAY, SANTIAGO ISLAND: 85°F, 84.7% partly cloudy, little wind-Galapagos sea lion-Galapagos fur seal-brown pelican-Elliot’s storm petrel-great frigatebird-Nazca booby-common noddy-yellow crowned night heron-lava heron-semi-palmated plover-American oystercatcher-whimbrel-Galapagos flycatcher-small tree finch-small ground finch-Pacific green sea turtle-marine iguana-lava lizard-sally lightfoot crab-spotted eagle ray-blacktip reef shark-marbled ray-cownose ray-spotted porcupinefish