San Cristobal

Friday, April 29- there was an earthquake in Vanuatu last night and the seas are a little choppy this morning. The crew suspects that it did have an effect. It was an early morning sail to get to San Cristobal island. We were up at 6 am getting ready to go snorkeling at Kicking Rock by 6:30. It was a highlight for. Few of the people on board. After a quick swim out by our guide it was determined to be too dangerous to snorkel there with the rough waters. A decision was made to move on to Pinta Pitt for a hike, which was on our agenda anyway. After breakfast a few of us were on deck with our binoculars looking for whales or whatever was out there. Two of us spotted a few splashes in the water. Not long after we were invaded by pods of Dolphins. We were told there could be 70 or more of them. The guide then said that if anyone was interested in swimming with them to get ready. It didn't take long for seven of the group to gear up and jump in the pangas. The Dolphins were so fast it was hard for the pangs to catch up to them let alone get ahead of them. The gang jumped out on a few occasions to be near them. It was very cool to watch from the boat as well. Some people got underwater pictures so we will get them later. Ron's camera is still not working.

Our guide with Tom, Chelsea, and Ron after swimming with the Dolphins.

John, Anna, and Bob coming back in. Everyone was so excited. Our missed snorkel this morning got substituted with a swim with dolphins. Can't beat that! 

We arrived at San Cristobal island where we went for a hike with Darwin to Punta Pitt. The terrain was pretty rocky and tricky, even Darwin had hiking boots on. He usually went bear foot on our hikes. The trek was well worth it. We climbed a bit and got some great views. We spotted the blue footed boobies. They were very plentiful here and they were nesting. There were red footed boobies also. Blue footed boobies have their nests on the ground and the red footed boobies build nests in the trees.

Waved Albatross

Red footed bootie

Blue footed bootie. Notice the white circle around the nesting area. The bird rotates with the sun and does her business as she goes along. Some of these birds had two eggs.

It felt like we were in a desert, very warm and dry. The birds were panting to try to cool down. When we were down at the beach again we soaked our feet in the water but Ron went one step further and jumped on. A sea lion came by and showed Ron his/her teeth. Back on the boat around noon and lunch at 12:30. We relax until our next activity, snorkeling at 2pm. Only seven of us choose to go snorkeling and Jose, our captain,  comes with us. Ron and I quickly see a huge yellow and blue lobster. Then all of a sudden I felt like someone placed me inside an aquarium filled with fish. It was an unbelievable feeling. They were all around us, in our faces, just below and above us. While that was going on a sea lion swam right underneath me. As we kept swimming further the fish disappeared. I did see one other sea lion swim close by. We were getting cold so back on board to meet up with the others who had gone for a walk on the beach. After a warm shower it's time for a beer and another whale watch. Bob and I have our binoculars nd before too long we see spouts. (Not the effects of the beer either) we tell the captain and before we know it we are heading out towards it. 

The captain says that there are two Right whales out there. We get a few pics and then they are gone. About one hour later more pods of Dolphins. What a show for what feels like an hour or so, probably around 15-20 minutes. 

We have dinner at 7:00 and then tomorrow's agenda. We go out to see the stars and someone notices a few sea lions near the boat catching flying fish. The show never ends. Off to bed around 9:00. Full days and early mornings are catching up to us, but we are loving every minute.