Dolphins ahead

Today we had a day trip which took us 2 and 1/2 hours away by boat to an uninhabited Island named Bartolomew Island. We boarded the boat not knowing what to expect again and were headed on our way. 

The kids and I sat on the top of the boat to see what we could see. Our first spottings were sea turtles swimming along the boat. We also saw flying fish, literally jump out of the water and glide for a while before a landing deck in the water. But perhaps the most incredible site, was the more than 40 plus dolphins following. Ilan, with our boat. They were playing, jumping, rolling over, and really just a sight to see. As Theo stated," this is a dream come true!" Over and over again. We were all in awe. Well all except Zoey who was a bit sea sick on the first floor of the boat.

We passed by two islands known as the Daphne islands, just jutting out of the water. The landscape here is absolutely amazing to see with the volcanic black lava rock juxtaposed the turquoise water. There are islands poking out everywhere.

After 2 and 1/2 hours, we got to our first stop. We were told to jump out of the boat and snorkel along the shore until you found a Sandy Beach. The rocks along the shore were filled with numerous sea  creatures, colorful fish, entire schools of fish, crabs, sea urchins and.... Penguins. Yes, there were penguins in the water. Unfortunately by the time our family got to the spot, they had swam off. 

Evan, Zoey, Sophie and Lisa made it to the sandy shore after quite an intensive swim. Theo was eventually dropped off by a dinghy later so that he could also see what was on the island. It was beautiful. White sand and black lava rock and hundreds of funny little red crabs walking sideways. Zoey decided it was time to build a sandcastle and some of the crabs wanted to help.

After exploring the island a bit, and burning our feet on the sand and lava rocks, we were picked up by the dinghy and brought back to our boat. Our next stop would be to hike up to the top of bartolomew Island volcano to see the crater. This island looked as though it was Mars. Everything was black or red lava rock. No trees, no cactuses, very little green and just a lot of lava lizards and lava birds. 

For those of you unaware of the weather in the Galapagos Islands in April, it is 85° and humid, very very humid. Mix into that walking through black lava rock fields and always being by the water and you have a level of hotness that is hard to describe. Even after being in Israel in 115°, Evan and I decided this was hotter with the humidity. 

Zoe, Sophie, and I quickly decided after the first 20 minutes of the hike up the volcano that it was not worth it and headed back to the base to grab a dinghy to our boat. We were fed a delicious lunch and happy with our decision. 

From here, we headed back 2 and 1/2 hours to the island where we were staying. We were so exhausted from the swimming, heat, Sun, seasickness, early mornings, everything ...that we all took a siesta on the front of the ship. Well, everyone except Theo.