Isabela

 This morning we awoke to the tree covered bay of Tagus.  An adventure walk and a zodiac tour were both offered for the early morning.  We chose to stay and sleep a little longer but I’m sure both were excellent.

Midmorning was the snorkeling for the day.  The water was a little colder than yesterday but still quite tolerable.  There was also a lot more debris in the water which is what I believe was responsible for for more schools of fish.  The first thing I noticed when I jumped in was all the small silver fish swimming in schools, changing directions along with the tide and sometimes flashing silver from the light.  These are the fish the penguins love.  There was a group of 5 or 6 of them torpedoing through the water right beside us.  There was also flightless cormorants doing the same.  A little later in the swim I saw several sea turtles with fish cleaning their shells.  On the cliffs was a nest of baby pelicans.  Every swim brings different sites.

This afternoon there was a lecture on penguins, explaining their evolution and how they differ from other birds.  As with the other lectures it was quite informative.

The skies clouded up in the afternoon bringing rain for the afternoon zodiac tours and the kayakers.  We decided to pass although our group seemed to have a relatively dry trip.  David enjoyed a massage which he said was much needed.

The late afternoon lecture was on the life of Charles Darwin.  I think there’s a lot attributed to him in our minds that went way beyond his discoveries.  He was mainly an observer of nature, collecting samples to study on his return to England.  His major discovery in the Galapagos involved finches and how their different beak shapes determined what they could eat.  He clearly is an important person in the islands.

We dined at the Grill again this evening.  The staff goes out of their way to make you feel appreciated .  We now have ‘our table’ in a protected corner and they know our preference for water.  It makes for such a lovely experience onboard.

Tomorrow: Floreana