Bottoms in Ecuador (Our FIRST visitors) - Galapagos: Day 5

We spent our last day on Isla Labos.  Our guide, Andres, referred to the island as 'Sea Lion Kindergarten' because of the large group of nursing sea lion pups that can be found there.  In addition, he told us we would find frigate birds and blue footed boobies.  We were sad to think it was our last day, but very much looking forward to the wildlife we were expected to see on our hike.

this is a blue footed boobie who hasn't matured and still has white feet

he was young and showing off for us a bit

Here are those blue feet we've been looking for

blue footed boobie with kicker rock in the background

Scottee was so excited about seeing boobies

look how different these two blue feet are

Cabezas with a blue footed boobie

there were frigate birds flying everywhere

and we were so excited to see one all ballooned up!

the males will puff out their red chests for a full 24 hours to attract a mate

Andres was right!  In addition to the birds, there were scores of sea lions lying around inland.  Not just full grown sea lions, but tons and tons of pups.  Most of them were crying which made for quite a racket.  But others were quieted when they finally found their mothers.  Mostly they were all adorable.

they were lying everywhere up on the beach

grouped by mothers and pups

many pups were quietly feeding

some of the pups were hanging out together in small groups

they were pretty adorable 

blue footed boobies and sea lions together

rock pillows

then we saw this little guy...he was quite the ham

he found a stick and was playing with it for our group's enjoyment

just a happy morning with a stick

posing perfectly for some pictures

so we obliged our ham and took a picture with him

mom and pup walking to the beach together

After our hike we had the opportunity to do some snorkeling offshore.  We saw lots of fish and had a few sea lions join us to play.  It was bittersweet because the snorkeling was beautiful, but we also knew it was our last time out.  Crazy to think how used to swimming with sea lions you can get over the course of just a few days!

we were sent on our way with tons of birds flying overhead, including this boobie that Scottee was able to capture mid-air!

 Back in Quito, the Bottoms had less than 24 hours to regroup and get packed for home.  We decided a quick stop at the food market was worth another tourist stop.  Fried empanadas seemed like the safest option for everyone's tummy, so we each chowed down on one before heading home to relax.

empanadas = yum-o

I was more sad saying goodbye at the airport than I had anticipated.  I love our life here in Ecuador so much, but having a taste of home for a few days was really nice.  It was such a great adventure and so nice to spend time with the Bottoms that I was very sad to send them off.  Re-visiting these pictures and writing my account of the trip has been so fun.  It's reminded me of how many amazing things we saw over the course of just a few days.  It was a once in a lifetime experience and I'm so happy we were able to do it together!  First visitors and trip to Galapagos in the books!

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!)