Today was another busy day. After breakfast the first thing we did was a hike on Fernandina island which has one of the most active volcanos in the Galapagos with the last eruption happening in 2009. The terrain was cool with different types of lava formations and we saw tons of marine iguanas, more sea lions and some flightless cormorants. We also saw the bones from a whale that previously washed up on the shore.

After the hike we got changed into our snorkeling gear and got in the boats. We were told it was going to be cold, but I don’t think anyone expected it to be as cold as it was! By the end of the snorkeling most of us couldn’t feel our hands or feet! Under the water we saw more sea lions and turtles swimming along with lots of fish and a small white tipped Galapagos shark. Some of the others also saw the flightless cormorants fishing and swimming around under the water.

In the afternoon the boat took us across the channel to a bay on Isabela island. After lunch and a rest we got back into our snorkeling gear to go again. After the freezing waters in the morning some people decided to stay behind. Thankfully the water was marginally warmer in the afternoon and I at least kept the feeling in my hands and feet. The new sighting for the afternoon was a few penguins hanging out on the rocks.

After snorkeling we got back on the boat and got ready to go on another hike. We didn’t see much wildlife, but we had a beautiful lookout point over the bay and also of a small lake on the island. We took a ride on the zodiac after the hike and got a glimpse of a few more penguins and went into a couple small caves.