Three New 'Finds' Snorkeling
walked the beach again this morning, .... this is Helmut's 'handy-work' ... kindergarden ... cute :) ....
followed these turtle tracks ....
and found where she dug out a place for her eggs right in with all these bushes !!!!! ...what a job ! ...
.... tracks in and then out again .... i guess sometimes they do this to throw off any predators ... adding more work to the process ....
more tracks ... there were probably 6 places where it looks like a nest was at least started .... but i couldn't tell if any of them had eggs laid in them ...
one was a 'Turtle Angel' :) ...
you can see 2 attempts here ....
i love looking tall with long legs in the morning sunlight :) ....
the beach goes on forever ....
sand art ...
moved into my new room ... a corner room, with 2 sets of windows :) ....
my view ....
i talked to a tour company about maybe getting a boat to take me out to find the Manta Rays .... but that appears out of my price range $250+ ;(
so i went snorkeling back to Perla .... the tide seemed high, and it was pretty choppy and a lot of current, so it was a lot of work today.
i saw this Spotted Porcupine Fish first thing ..... 1-2'
these ParrotFish are such a bright colorful eye-full when you spot one ....
i haven't seen a Pacific BurrFish in Isabella ..... they look a bit like my little BalloonFish, but are more blue and have spots on their fins ....
snorkeling over a sandy area, i spotted this crab ...
did you notice what is on the NW side of it ????? ... a small Leopard Flounder ... i haven't seen one of these in The Galapagos ! .....
i'm afraid i scared the little crab and he buried himself in the sand ..... and the little Flounder stayed right by him for the longest time .... but the crab stayed buried ....
some of you might remember my Peacock Flounders that i saw in Roatan .... they are masters of camouflage ....
plus, they have an interesting story. when they are born, they look like any 'normal' fish ... with an eye on either side of their head .... shortly thereafter, one eye 'migrates' over to the other side next to the other eye ... and they rotate and seem to look in all directions ....
they lay flat as a pancake on the surface. they float over sand and rocks and change colors as they go ...
finally, the Flounder .... 'floundered' (sorry, i couldn't help that) around by himself ... like he just lost his best friend :) .... i left him, so hopefully the crab would come back out ....
i snorkeled over to where i saw the Octopus, by the rocks and and the calmer waters.
i've seen a lot of Pencil Sea Urchins ... but these were particularly bright and colorful .... usually they are covered with moss or algae ...
their body looked like a deep purple velvet ....
then i saw this .... it was about 6" in diameter ...
can't find it in any book ... it has to be some kind of Cushion Sea Star ... but it will take some research to find out what kind ... i am truly hoping that a Guide on my Cruise will be knowledgeable about Marine life .... such short stubby arms ...
most Sea Stars have 5 or 9 arms ... this one had many many ... around a very 'beefy' body ....
i haven't seen many 'pretty' shells here ... actually i haven't seen hardly any shells at all .... so this one really caught my eye ...
when i turned it over, it was so smooth and shiny .....
i moved out to deeper water again ... i've seen these 'things' before, but never so colorful .... they are Giant Sea Cucumbers ... well, i guess that's descriptive ...
another colony of the Pencil Sea Urchines .... along with a yellow- lipped, blue-eyed, YellowTail DamselFish .... their tails are never all that yellow, but their lips always are ... i'm going to submit a suggestion to rename them :) ....
another favorite of mine .... i love the Sea Stars because they don't move :) ...
on the way back in, i chased that Porcupine Fish and another BurrFish around before calling it quits for the day ...
when i got home, i talked with Pablo, a guide, about my desire to see a Manta Ray ... i've been thinking about this since Sunday ... and today it became an obsession of mine ... i want to see one before i leave. i will not have an opportunity to see this giant on the Cruise ship ... the smaller boats here are right on the water and it's possible to get in and snorkel with them .... i want to do that!!!! ...everyone i talk with has seen them ... i want to see them too .... whaaaaaaaaaaa :(
my only option is paying for another Tunnels Tour .... which i wasn't even impressed with when i went on Sunday :( Pablo told me which Tour Operator to go to and explain to them that i don't care about the rest of the trip ... i just want to see Manta Rays.... so off i go .... of course, they don't speak any English. after a few minutes William came to their rescue from somewhere. he speaks 4 languages :) ... one of them English. i explained my situation and desires to him.... he translated, and they understood. so i signed up. when i took the Tour on Sunday, 17 Mar, it was $60 ... on the 18th, the price changed to $85 ! ... i guess they felt sorry for me and charged me $70. ...i now have $130 invested in this venture. i prayed, again, for my little miracle.
sunset for today ...
worked on the continuingly-frustrating internet :)
then walked the beach from 8-10pm .... saw no turtles :(
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