Bottoms in Ecuador (Our FIRST visitors) - Galapagos: Day 4

We started the new year off with a wet landing at Punta Pitt for a hike.  The beach was made of gold sand that actually sparkled in the sunlight.  Several sea lions were sunbathing, but we walked up the beach and down a very rocky trail.  I would say this was our hardest trek, but we were rewarded by seeing lots of red-footed boobies!

a beach that sparkles like diamonds

trying to give you a feel for the hike

Kels hates this picture, but I'm just trying to show you that it was steep in sections

this hike also had some of the most breathtaking scenery

at the top, we had a gorgeous view

Bottoms and a view

Cabezas and a view

and at the top we saw red footed boobies!!

Scottee being a boobie

on the way down Scottee suffered an injury....it was the toughest hike: lots of rocks!
but he bandaged himself up (with the toilet paper we had at the ready) and blazed on

After the hike we went snorkeling right off the beach.  This was the first time we got to swim with sea lions.  They were crazy playful and swam so close to us.  Andres had told us so many times not to touch them (because it messes with their smell), that Kelsey got me on video pulling my arms in to avoid a guy that was swimming past me.  It was also the first time we saw a sea turtle! (Again...if only we knew we'd see so many more!) The experience was unbelievable.

sea lion friend

you can see how close he came to a flipper (not sure whose?)

they move quickly!!!

but they are so graceful in the water

baby sea lion on the beach

We sailed to Kicker Rock for our afternoon snorkeling.  Some say the rock looks like a foot, others the sphinx (in Spanish the location is called Leon Dormido).  Either way, it made for the best snorkeling we had the whole trip.  The deeper water created an environment for all sorts of wildlife.  We were swimming in walls of fish, with rays, sharks and crazy plant life on the rock walls.  Scottee and I even saw a hammerhead come up briefly from the dark bottom (too quickly to grab a picture!).  But I was most excited to see the sea turtles!!!  There were so many of them.  Unlike the sea lions, they swam away from us, but there were too many to miss.

kicker rock

we swam right through the channel in between the two rocks

it was a pretty stunning sight and the boat anchored right up close to the rocks 

view chasing sea turtles :)

Scottee with a sea turtle

me with a sea turtle

the rays were incredibly graceful in the water

starfish on the side of the rock

long and thin starfish 

walls and walls of fish

but the sea turtles were my favorite

I could have spent days chasing these guys

We saw some sea lions at Kicker Rock, too.  It basically had everything you could ever want to see in one place.  If you ever go to the Galapagos, it must be on your itinerary.  It was the best afternoon of the trip.  (Good luck days 2 - 365 of 2015 in topping it!)