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7am wakeup followed by pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast! There was also a generous selection of fruit, bread ham and cheese and Guayabana Fruit juice which Nathan isn't keen on. Our dingy boat almost would start so we had to wait a little while for the engineer to help fix it. We headed to Sullivan bay and walked along lava rocks for about an hour. The last eruption was 100 years ago and it was interesting to see all the different patterns and shapes which had been made, however after a while it was a bit repetitive. We spotted a couple of iguanas which were really well camouflaged into the rocks but other than these and a locust there was no other wildlife on the lava so we were keen to get into the sea.
Snorkelling was good, there was a massive school of small black fish just a few meters from the shore, some larger fish amongst which we think were (with help from lonely planet) white-banded angelfish, blue parrotfish and blue-eyed damselfish. We also swam really close to a green sea turtle! Just as Nathan and I stood up Eddy saw a penguin shoot past but by the time we put our masks back on it had gone. Eddy also spotted a sea urchin not far from where we had been standing on the rocks. Back on board we enjoyed more fresh fruit not long before another delicious lunch of tuna pasta, beef and salad followed by jelly and cream for dessert. We are definitely well fed on this cruise!
After lunch we had a siesta til 2 then went to Bartolomé and had a short walk up and down the hilly sand which was scorching hot. This was a hot spot for shark watching, unfortunately we didn't see any but the Dutch couple in our group spotted 3 swimming around. We snorkelled again after this but at the first beach (so hopefully away from the sharks although the guide told us there were plenty around.. The small ones aren't threatening to humans but there have been sightings of tiger sharks too!). The water here was clear and we swam over coral, close to loads of small black and coloured fish, some larger, brightly coloured ones and some starfish. It was quite scary at times as you would be swimming just above coral but then suddenly there would be a big gap and just ocean beneath. Again the Dutch couple saw a small shark which we missed (it would have been terrifying to see one swimming towards us so I wasn't too upset about not seeing it). No penguins here from what we saw although they swim so fast we could well have missed one. Back on land we saw a Galápagos fur seal for the first time, different to the sealions we have seen everywhere as they have fur as the name suggests.
We went back to the boat briefly to get changed and then headed straight out to go on another walk which was very picturesque and a good view of the surrounding islands. This time we walked up wooden steps, it wasn't too tiring but incredibly windy. The trip back to our main boat was easily the highlight of the day, we went on the dingy close to the rocks and saw 4 or 5 penguins. They are the only tropical penguins and were smaller than we expected! There was also a blue footed boobie chilling on the rocks and loads of bright orangy red crabs. We were greeted on board with delicious salted roast potatoes before enjoying another nice warm shower. Once again our rooms had been tidied and the bathroom cleaned!
Dinner was coffee rice, chicken stew, vegetables and salad followed by jam roly poly. We aren't moving tonight as we have already travelled an hour to Santiago however it's still quite rocky at the moment. A couple of the girls are feeling quite ill so hopefully it will calm down!
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