We began our day’s explorations at Los Islotes. Snorkelers slipped into the water and swam among curious and playful California sea lions. Sea lions moved with effortless grace and elegance, doing loops, turns, and rushing sprints close past us, and we bobbed at the surface smiling at their antics. Near the surface, schools of small fishes (sergeant major and scissortail chromis) nipped at tiny plankton drifting in the water. A young sea lion was very curious about the wooden swim ladder hanging over the side of the inflatable boat, and he repeatedly put his head and flippers between the steps and looked at the humans above.
Later we cruised near the shores of ‘The Islets’ and looked at sea lions draped over rocks, resting in all manner of positions. Some were quite high above the water’s edge, while others used their long flippers to climb up onto ledges. They were quite noisy at times, barking, snorting, and sneezing. Overhead, boobies arrived from feeding trips, and as they prepared to land, we could glimpse their bright blue feet.
We enjoyed lunch out on the ship’s top deck and made ice cream sundaes for dessert. Our afternoon was spent exploring Ensenada Grande, a beautiful bay a short distance to the south on Isla Partida. Some people went on a long, strenuous hike, clambering over and between giant boulders to reach a viewpoint at the top. Meanwhile others took a more leisurely pace looking closely at adaptations of desert plants. Kayakers paddled along the shoreline, investigating the beautiful and otherworldly rock formations edging the bay. The buff-colored volcanic tuff at the water’s edge had eroded into beautiful shapes; huge, feature-less heads, overhangs, and shapes reminiscent of melting ice cream. Most of us had never seen such unusual, strange rock formations.
