Swimming with sharks

The water was still rough when we got in the boat to go to Isabela. Most of our group was not feeling well about 2 hours into the ride (I was luckily unaffected by the waves). In hindsight, perhaps scrambled eggs were not the wisest choice for breakfast for some. Simon actually lay down at the back of the boat so he couldn’t feel the waves so much. We stopped for a break and decided it was a good place for snorkeling. I was the only member of our group that did NOT want to see a shark swimming by me. So, what happened? A mother white-tipped shark with her baby swam directly beneath me. The three of us kind of hung out for a minute, probably all a bit surprised to see each other. I then calmly made my way back to the boat, where I could freak out in peace. Once I had gathered myself, I realized how cool it was to have seen a mother and baby shark not 20 feet from me.
We rode in the boat near the coast of the island for a while and were able to see penguins and blue-footed boobies sharing some rocks. We stopped along the way for a hike and saw tons and tons of iguanas. We have one picture that is like a puzzle, how many iguanas can you find? There was also a baby sea lion that kept insisting I take it home. It was so cute I almost couldn’t stop myself. We also saw a shark and a spotted ray while standing on an overlook into the water. I almost wiped out getting back onto the boat, but the dinosaur arms saved me again.
We went snorkeling again near the penguin area, but they appeared to be taking a break from swimming. We did get to swim with sea turtles and a sea lion came in for a close inspection of me. Where’s the camera when you need it? The water was fairly shallow in that area so we could see everything very clearly.
We arrived at our hotel after a brief ride in a pickup truck (the official vehicle of the Galapagos). Our hotel was beautiful. It was right on the beach and had a very laid back feel to it.
It was quite late when we arrived, so we had dinner and then it was off to bed.