Log/Pic 34 Isla Plaza, Galapagos

So yesterday I went to Plaza Island and had the greatest interaction with sea lions. We saw one, then two, then three, then four, then five, and then eight or nine by the time we came to the islands tip. This was obviously where they hung out. They were above us, below us, in and out of the caves, and all around us.

I took the advice of a local and instead of just looking at them, I decided to get a little goofy and play.
I was rolling and spinning and swimming like them.
It worked! They were all over me, shooting towards my face then turning at the last second. They were above, below, and on the side of me. They even chased after us.
The more I played, the more active they were and the longer they stayed.
Two of the 3three of us had yellow fins. They chewed and nibbled on both of our fins.
They are so graceful.
Our fins look just like theirs.
A couple of babies joined in on the fun.
This one had cute puppy-dog eyes.
When my scuba buddy was running out of air in all the excitement-the only reason playtime ended-this little one waved goodbye.

Log/Pic 33 North Seymore Island/ Gordon Rocks

So this is the dive boat I work on-the DIOS ME GUIE (God is my guide). Tito is the captain and Jabinero,on deck, is the 1st mate.
This is what most people come to see.
Eel
Eagle rays
Sharptail (snake) eel
close-ups of whitetips
There was 35 in this group-mating season ya know!
These are...
Manta rays

O.K. I promise these are the last underwater photos I blog-unless I see a whale shark!!

Log/Pic 32 The Highlands, Galapogos

So I knew I said I wasn't going to blog for awhile, but today was a day off of diving and I had the coolest experience with the giant Galopagos tortoises. This couple in town invited me to their farm in the highlands and they had these monsters everywhere.
These eight in this small pond became 17 before I headed back to the farm. I returned only because the sun was going down. On my way back there were three more on their way to submerge for the night.
I layed down on my belly and watched this one for a long time. I think Imight have even sang to it-o.k. I did.
As each one lathargically slid into the water, bubbles came out from under them and the ducks would feed in the stirred up moss.
Alright, I really liked this one.
This one ate flowers.
This one posed for the camera.
It's obvious why the first people named them based on their resemblance to elephants.
Up until around thirty, their age can be determined by the rings within each shute.
The tortoises make a hissing noise when first approached. They also make a kind of mooing sound at times. My favorite was just sitting there in silence and listening to them breathe.