This past week our program got to explore some of the other beautiful islands of the Galapagos. We first ventured to Santa Cruz, the most populated of the islands. Everyday we explored a new island and snorkeled with various marine creatures. The island with the red plants and green cacti is called South Plazas and there we found plenty of yellow land iguanas. In the second to last photo you can see Bartolome, another isolated island we visited that had snorkeling with bright white sand and I found a little puffer fish munching on a dead bumblebee. On Santa Cruz we went to beautiful beaches that we had all to ourselves and we swam with the marine iguanas slowly making their way across. Next we headed over to Isabela Island, a place I remember fondly from my week here during Mountain Geology. Here we visited stunning lava tunnels where we encountered so many Blue Footed Boobies I almost stepped on one on accident. This is also a breeding ground for the birds so we found a one month old young fluffy boobie. It was also on Isabela that we encountered the endemic Galapagos Penguin, I had never seen a penguin in the wild before and might not see one again so that was pretty magical. On our way from the lava tunnels to a snorkeling site we passed some manta rays in the ocean casually swimming along at the surface. There easy to spot because they are large dark masses that occasionally flip the tips of their fins out of the water, showing the white skin underneath. Our guide told us we could swim with them if we wanted so we grabbed our masks and quickly jumped in the water to hang out with this ten foot creature for just seconds before it would speed away. Overall the trip was amazing, but I am happy to be back home on San Cristobal with my family.
