Nov 14



Yet another beautiful day for snorkeling and walking on Isabela Island. We first went to Las Tinturas where we hiked along the lava fields. There is white stuff on the rocks which at first glance looks like bird poop (there is a lot of that here!) but is actually lichen. There is a cool channel along the edges of the water where sharks congregate to rest. The water flows in at high tide and is just the right speed so that the sharks can rest, yet still get enough water I their gills to breathe. They get a break from moving and we get a chance to see them relax.



Later, we when snorkeling in a smaller cove (low tide) where we swam with iguanas and a host of cool fish and even a beautiful purple starfish. There were sea lions around, but they were napping on some boats, warming up in the sun and didn't want to play. No worries though, we were able to hang out with them later as they also like napping in the park.



We went into the turtle breeding grounds and saw how they are able to protect the baby turtles and increase the population. There are some non native animals such as rats and goats that make it virtually impossible for the eggs to hatch without being eaten first. So, they replicate a natural habitat in a protected area and let the babies do there thing. Once they are old enough, they release them into the wild. It is pretty cool and I am impressed with how much care is taken to make things as natural as possible. The program seems to be very successful.



We followed that up with a lovely walk on a trail that went through some mangroves, ponds, and other wonderful bits of nature, then plopped us in the middle of town. The town had quite the beach vibe and was quite interesting to get lost in.



The boat was the perfect spot to watch the super moon from. It was pretty bright and cool to finally see a fabulous night sky away from the light pollution of the city.