Fewer pictures were taken today because we did a morning kayak ride, a late morning snorkeling trip and a zodiac ride.  Next time we do the Galapagos Islands we will make sure to bring a Go Pro camera so we can take more pictures in the water when we are kayaking and snorkeling.  We do have remarkable videos that the photographer took of our snorkel trips.
 
During our early morning kayak trip we were able to see several Blue Footed Boobies.  They were all on the side of cliffs or on rock outcroppings in the water.  While we were kayaking there were splashes every now and then like large rocks falling off the cliffs.  It took a few splashes before we realized these were birds (Blue Footed Boobies) that were dive bombing into the water to catch fish.  They would hit the water hard flying straight down, catch a fish in the large schools of Black Striped Salemas swimming in the water, and then slowly resurface a few seconds later.  We also saw distant splashes further out to sea but as we looked more closely we realized these were Eagle Rays jumping out of the water.  These rays would jump out of the water and spin around like they were giving us a show.  We saw a few sea lions along the beach and one sea lion swam with us a little while as we paddled along.  We spotted several pelicans, one heron and several other birds flying around as we enjoyed our first kayak trip.
 
Later in the morning we did our deep-sea snorkeling session (Silversea defines this as snorkeling from a zodiac in 10 to 40 foot water versus snorkeling off the beach).  We were dropped off at the same spot we started our kayak trip and there were three sea lions waiting for us.  We swam over to the sea lions and swam with them for about 10 minutes before we started swimming down the coast. You'll see a photo of Sharon with one of the sea lions. These sea lions loved playing with us and would dart around us, under us and sometimes even between our legs.  At times they would swim straight at us and open their mouths which looked pretty aggressive at times, but they were just playing.  They watched you and would repeat somersaults and twists in the water that you would do.  As we swam away from the sea lions we found a large Manta Ray gliding through the water.  Manta Rays are 3 to 4 times larger than a big sting ray.  We followed it until it swam too deep to see it any more.  We also found a very pretty, green sea turtle swimming along the coast.  These sea turtles are 4 to 5 feet long with very distinctive markings on his shell and didn’t seem to be too concerned about having swimmers around him.  Besides seeing hundreds of different types of fish, our group also saw an octopus, an eel and a shark.  Towards the end of our snorkeling we came across a myriad of different colored starfish.  They covered the bottom and were very different from the starfish we see in Florida or the Caribbean.  It was an extremely enjoyable snorkeling trip.
 
While we ate lunch, our ship repositioned to visit Eden Inlet on Santa Cruz Island.  In the afternoon we took a zodiac excursion to see some different areas from the coastline.  Once again, we saw several blue footed boobies nesting along the coastal rocks.  There were sea lions around as always.  We went by a grove of mangrove trees and saw a few small sharks swimming around. 
 
Greg and Sharon

Today our ship made two stops:  Seymour North in the morning and Bahia Sullivan in the afternoon.  There was also a morning snorkeling session.
 
Seymour North was mostly populated with Frigatebirds.  Many of the Frigatebird males had their “red gulars” puffed out to attract females.  It was very unique to see these big red balloons under many of the males.  It must have worked for at least one of the males because we were able to see one male and one female mating.  We were also told that competing male Frigatebirds will sometimes pop another male’s gular sack to minimize the competition.  Frigatebirds are very mean!  Supposedly the gular sacks do repair themselves over time.  There were many baby Frigatebirds around and along with juvenile birds. The Nazca Boobies and Frigatebirds seemed to coexist nicely but we were told that the Frigatebirds are not nice and often steal the fish from the boobies.  The island landscape was very pretty with a red Carpetweed that was seen in many areas providing some good color to the island.  Once again iguanas were easy to find along with sea lions.  We got one good picture of an egret with a baby sea lion.
 
In late morning there was a snorkeling session where several manta rays were spotted.  The Silversea's photographer said that this was the best pictures he ever got of the manta rays and diamond string rays swimming in the water.  A few sharks were also spotted during this session along with your normal reef fish.
 
In the afternoon on our zodiac ride to Bahia Sullivan, we spotted our first Galapagos penguin.  It was by itself but seemed to be having a good time.  The hike on this island was on a lava field where we learned a lot about the creation of the Galapagos Islands.  The flow we walked on was from 1897 (just a little over 100 hundred years old).  The different lava flow marks on the surface was really interesting to see and we were amazed to see so many different patterns to the flow.  We were also shown some of the lava tubes as we walked.  It seemed as if most of the lava tubes had collapsed over time.  Plant life was just starting to grow in the lava which is pretty amazing considering there really isn’t any soil and not much fresh water.  There were also a couple of cactuses that were found.  The only animal life we saw in the lave field were a few lava lizards, some marine iguanas by the coastline and many Sally Light-footed crabs walks around the rocks in the water.
 
It was just another enjoyable day in the Galapagos Islands.  The weather was great – no rain, a little windy, and not hot.
 
Greg and Sharon

We made it to the Galapagos Islands! The Galapagos Islands are uniquely centered on the equator and have one of the largest concentrations of multiple indigenous species (species only found here) of birds, reptiles, fish and plants. The ocean currents, temperatures, winds, volcanic activity and many other factors create this unique environment. Charles Darwin is closely associated with the Galapagos Islands and some say many of his ideas on the origin of life came from these islands.  Another unique thing about being on the equator is that the sun always rises at 6 AM and sets at 6 PM!
 
There are many daily activities on board the Silversea Galapagos.  The first morning excursion typically leaves around 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning followed by a late morning snorkeling or kayak trip.  There is always an afternoon excursion which might be a hike, zodiac ride or kayaking trip.  The only way you leave or board the ship is by zodiac.  It is a very active lifestyle but you are certainly allowed to only do what you want and don’t have to do everything.
 
On our 1st day we visited Bahia Darwin for a morning walk where we were introduced to the Red Footed Boobies.  They have nesting areas all over the island along with Frigatebirds.  The Frigatebirds are also known as pirate birds and try to steal the food from the smaller boobies.  We saw several sea lions laying around along with one that had fun swimming in a small pool.  There were also other birds like mockingbirds that were very territorial and fended off other birds to keep their area.  Besides those we saw several Darwin finches flying and running around.  It was a pleasant morning walk and our first real introduction to some of the wildlife in the Galapagos.
 
Late in the morning we did our first snorkeling trip off the zodiacs.  Although the water was a little cold we had wet suits provided by the ship.  The seas were smooth and we were dropped off in an area where we could just swim down current which made it very nice.  The water was a little murky and there is not any bright colorful corral as you see in some places like Bora Bora but there were plenty of fish swimming around to make it enjoyable.  The highlight though was when we came upon a couple of sea lions who wanted to swim with us.  They would dart around us and seemed to be having a great time.  
 
In the late afternoon we visited El Barranco Island and climbed up Prince Phillip's Steps.  This was named after him since he had visited the islands many years ago.  We saw several iguanas around the area along with a different species of boobies – the Nazca Booby.  As we walked we also saw many gullies where Short Eared Owls hid to attack and feed on smaller birds.  One other interesting bird we saw on this hike was a Lava Heron.  It was an enjoyable afternoon hike and allowed us to continue to get more familiar with the wildlife in the area.
 
We had an enjoyable day after going on three separate excursions.  Before dinner, the staff has an overview of the day's activities followed by what is in store for tomorrow's activities.  You decide what activities you would like to do and sign up for them.
 
Sharon and Greg