Day 3 was quite a busy day! It started out bright and early with our normal wakeup call & breakfast before we headed out to Rabida Island where we got to take a stroll along a gorgeous red colored beach. There were a lot of sea lions, and while Adam and Renee went out on a deep sea snorkeling trip, I got to see a hawk up close & personal as well as a baby sea lion that rolled around in the dirt (we jokingly called it a sea lion apanado- breaded sea lion!). I also went out on the glass bottom boat and we saw sharks, stingrays, schools of so many different kinds of fish (including angel fish, damselfish, pufferfish, and surgeonfish), and chocolate chip starfish. Renee and Adam saw some fish out on their deep sea snorkeling trip but they didn't get to see the hammerhead shark.
(Click on pictures for a closer view)
Our welcoming party on Rabida Island
The water was so clear and blue!
The hawk- he posed for all the photographers in the group!
My footsteps on the beach...because I was frantically looking for Renee's glasses that I somehow dropped in the sand (she entrusted me with them while she was snorkeling...yikes!). Luckily I found them!
The teeny tiny baby sea lion straight out of the water
He was not shy at all!
After he rolled around in the dirt and breaded himself! So cute!
After another lovely lunch and relaxing out on the ship deck, we headed to North Seymour Island, which was one of my favorites because...
That's right! North Seymour was where we saw tons of blue footed boobies and frigate birds. It was kind of overwhelming. At every corner there were pairs of blue footed boobies, some watching over eggs and others mating. You could hear their whistling call before you spotted them. We also saw the frigate birds and it was neat to see the male frigates puff out their red chests, spread out their wings, and do a mating dance to try to attract the females.
One of our first blue footed boobie sightings!
You could tell the difference between males and females based on the pupil sizes- the females had larger pupils and also their feet are more blue in color.
Blue footed boobies nest on the ground. This is a pair of boobies watching over their egg that is beneath the male boobie...can you see it?
The male boobie doing a mating dance around the female (we later saw this pair mate)
This is a male frigate with his red pouch inflated
Blue footed boobies and frigates all together
Can you see the inflated red pouch in the background? Another male searching for a mate
This is a baby frigate bird. They are fed by their mothers until they are almost a year old (much longer than other birds)
Another male in the background trying to attract mates
Swallowtail gull- check out the red ring around the eye
And of course, as on every island, lots of sea lion pups awaiting their mothers' return
Here is a sea lion pup feeding while its mother tries to rest
After this evening we headed back to the boat, and on this particular night it was super rocky. Suffice it to say that Adam didn't eat a whole lot during dinner and spent much of the evening up on the deck! It wasn't as bad as the previous night where one woman ran out during dinner from seasickness and we were kept up all night by the squeaking of our closet, but it was enough to make you feel a little dizzy!
Part 3- Galapagos Days 4 & 5 coming soon!
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