Tortuga Bay
if this isn't Leap Year, it's the last day of Feburary .... my time here is going really fast now :(
fixed my PBnJ on my nice 7 'cereals' bread :) ....then tried out the ATM machines again .... there are 3 of them in a row ... i tried Banco Pacifico, the one i tried a few days ago, and it still wouldn't work; ...the next one said i had exceeded my daily limit (at 8am); and the 3rd one worked ... yeahhhhhh :)
came back and prepared myself for snorkeling at Tortuga Bay, ...this time i'm going to rent a Kayak and go out to see the Sharks that everyone is seeing there.
i took my time walking to the Bay, listening to my book on tape.
..... the tide was WAY out ... Full Moon .... looks like an even LARGER beach now ...
i seem to be as entertained by the Marine Iguanas as i am by the Sea Lions ....they were all walking the beach this morning, .. either going in, or coming out of the sea ? ......
all 'creatures' are so interesting in their habits ...
i want to include these 2 photos of the Marine Iguanas swimming (at a different beach) .... i haven't been able to get this photos, so Katharina shared her's with me ...
i'd still like to see one under the water ! ....
i am still enjoying the diverse landscape of this area ...
since it was still early, it was very peaceful here ...
i found the Kayak guy from a couple of days ago, he recognized me an gave me his 'best deal' :). i rented my Kayak and spent 2+ hrs jumping/sliding in and out of the kayak and snorkeling ... and saw no sharks .... :(
i did see this rather large Reef CorneteFish .... the book says 1.5-3ft .. this one was at least 2.5 ...
there were a lot of these Sea Cucumber, which is not as pretty as the Warty Sea Cucumber i've seen before ...
and this Galapagos Puffer Fish ...
and a couple of Three-Banded Butterfly Fish ...
i took my time walking out of there ... saw this Great Blue Heron, keeping cool under the shade of this tree, .....
but who seemed to be in the wrong location ...maybe he was just digesting his food ..
and this Iguana watching over him ...
and took lots more photos of those Marine Iguanas ....
these two honey-mooners 'cuddling' ....
all the Iguanas who were 'walking the beach' this morning, were now lazing in the sun/shade ...
these are the first American Oyster Catchers i've seen .... a handsome black and white bird, with red eyes that feeds on crustaceans and mollusks, and is able to open clam shells with their strong bright red/orange beaks ...
one of the Travel places i went into last week to ask about Cruises, is a Dive Shop as well. i talked with Jaime who spoke good English, and i felt really comfortable with him. we talked about diving and my concerns about this being my first dive since last year, and the fact that the Galapagos is known for it's strong currents; and would i be 'in over my head' ? ... he said our first dive would be at a calm location, we would check everything out; and was sure i would be ok.
after another day of disappointing snorkeling, i decided i was ready to book a dive. don't get me wrong, .....any day in the water, is better than any day out of the water ... but i'm so wanting to see something NEW!
so i went back to him, and asked him if he is the Dive master that will be leading the dive, and if he would take good care of me, .... he is and he will ......, and he said he'd give me an extra special price of $100 ... last week he said $110 :) ...so i signed up ... i'm excited. the Dive Instructor fitted me with a 7mm wet suit ... a BIG difference from my 3mm suit, i could hardly get it on ... i needed another shower by the time i finished with that.
i made another payment on my Cruise, then found a little place on the corner that was playing John Mellencamp, and the music alone stopped me in my tracks. it sounded so good to hear music that i liked :) it didn't matter what he was serving, .... i was eating there :) he had roast turkey on a bun .... he said it was Galapagos Turkey, i.e., Pelican :) there was guy eating at the 'bar' that is a Naturalist Guide ... and he did speak good English. i tried speaking as much Spanish as i could, and he said my Spanish was better than 'un poco' (just a little) ....yeahhhhhh, i'm making progress :) .....he was very interesting to talk with, nice looking, and not a youngster ... and he invited me to his home .... but i declined :( ...i would have LOVED to spend time with him and get answers to all the questions i have about the Galapagos! ....but .... i didn't think it would be prudent ... i'm sure my Mom and Dad are proud of me :)
the Kayak guy told me there had been Golden CowRays at this Pier the last couple of nights. so i went to check it out; and visited with a couple from Canada, who had seen them last night. but they weren't there then ... maybe later, ...... but i went back home and never got back there again. lucky for you, you don't have to look at 20 more photos of Golden CowRays :)
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