Isabela Island - Excursion to Los Tuneles

Today 'The Snorkeling Trip' was on the agenda, it is supposed to be special because there are always sharks, sea turtles, manta rays, seahorses, etc. that can be observed. In the early morning, we were picked up by Peter, our guide for today. First, we went to the base where we received our snorkeling equipment. Then we went to the pier and were allowed to ride on the back of the pick-up truck, which was cool.

In the harbor, the speedboat was already waiting for us. We zoomed off to the sea for about 30 minutes. The boat made the first stop in front of a smaller rock. There were penguins and blue-footed boobies sitting on it. We observed the animals for a while and suddenly a whale jumped out of the water behind the rock. It was so fascinating. A wow experience for everyone who saw it. The captain accelerated again and we stopped at a rocky island formation. Here we were finally able to observe the blue-footed boobies up close. One female even had an egg in its nest. Two other males performed their 'dance' to impress another female. It was amazing! I took so many photos of them, I could have watched them for much longer.

Now it was time to head to 'Los Tuneles'. Peter had given us some rules. We shouldn't disturb or touch the sharks. We also shouldn't stir up sand with our fins or touch the turtles on their shells. Blah blah blah, and into the water we go. It was gigantic. We saw numerous turtles and colorful fish again, even a seahorse was spotted, and then two sharks in a cave. They were sleeping there. Diving down and observing them was quite scary for me. I felt like they could wake up any moment, shoot out of their cave, and I would be their meal. We continued snorkeling and suddenly a big shark swam next to us. Wow, it swam past us slowly and we followed it just as slowly. We were able to take great photos of it. So, I can only emphasize again and again, this is truly insane, I snorkel where there are sharks and I even track them. Something is wrong with me...haha. Our guide, Peter, discovered 3 more sharks in a cave. We looked at them and then after almost an hour in the water, we returned to the boat. Since I was freezing again, I was allowed to lie in the sun at the front of the boat to dry off. Just as I was about to sit down, I saw a big shark. It emerged from under the boat and calmly swam away. Unbelievable, really unbelievable. After a snack, we slowly sailed towards the mainland. The captain drove slowly for a while because there were many turtles, sea lions, and dolphins in the water, and we could observe them very well. Suddenly a huge manta ray appeared. I had never seen such a huge manta ray before, it was impressive. It swam next to us for a while and then disappeared into the depths of the sea.

When we arrived on the mainland, we said goodbye to Peter and lay down under a palm tree on our beach. Of course, I quickly got bored. Daniela was lying next to me listening to her audiobook. There were two options, annoy Daniela and get into trouble, or go swimming. So, I went swimming, buuuuuuut that also got boring alone. Then I went back to the hotel and asked about a snorkeling spot in our area and there was actually one. I went back to Daniela and told her about the snorkeling spot. She actually paused her audiobook and off we went. We had to walk over a wooden bridge that led through a mangrove forest. It looked fantastic. There were sea lions lying on the wooden bridge from time to time. There were so many at one point that we could barely pass them :-)

At the end of the bridge was a large platform where we could put our things down and enter the water via a wooden staircase. I have to write one more thing. On the platform, there was a large female sea lion that was feeding its baby there. People, it was such a cute sight. Whenever the mother turned the wrong way so that the young one couldn't suckle from her, it screamed like crazy. I jumped into the water with the camera and a young sea lion appeared in front of me. It played with me, it was funny. I took numerous pictures of it until it swam away at lightning speed. We continued snorkeling for a while. On the way back, we ate shrimp and tuna at a delicious restaurant. With this basis, we decided that at 8:00 p.m., a 'Jour Fixe' would take place 'on time'. We only had one agenda item: Happy Hour - testing cocktails!!!! What can I say, I received the bill this morning. I have a daiquiri headache. It's mean, but our 'Jour Fixe' was very funny and also delicious :-)!

Soon we will visit a turtle breeding station, and if we have time, we will snorkel again here on Isabela. At 3:00 p.m., we will leave the island for Santa Cruz by speedboat taxi. There we will spend the remaining days in the Galapagos.

Greetings to everyone, Anke & Daniela

PS: I will only be able to upload corresponding photos to the individual reports on Santa Cruz.