The day following the volcano excursion we opted for a more relaxed time so Dad could recuperate before the visit to Los Tuneles. Consequently we had a late start to the day and after a brief walk around town decided to head out to an area called “the wall of tears”. This wall of lava had been built by convicts when the island was a penal colony, so we felt that would be interesting. The national Park offices also mentioned that this was a great place to see birdlife especially on the way in the surrounding Mangroves.


Deciding on another walk we started off along the long white sandy beach stepping over some Marine Iguanas trying to sun themselves on another rather cloudy overcast day . When we came across the Mangrove area it offered little signs of life so we migrated to walking on the beach where at least the occasional Pelican flew overhead and the bright red crabs scurried across the sands. Eventually we reached a National Park check point only to be told that it was actually a further eight kilometres walk until we would reach the wall of tears, so we decided that after the volcano trek, that this was too far and returned to town to negotiate with a taxi.


After a quick lunch we found one and restarted the trip. On the way we noticed that one of Lagoons was now populated by a few Galapagos Flamingos. We stopped to admire them as their pink colour here is so concentrated they are most eye catching. There are only around 1000 left in the islands, so catching a glimpse is generally lucky and they were certainly pinker than anything I seen in Africa.


On a park promontory we witnessed some Boobys and Pelicans flying and skimming over the waves . Huge Iguanas lay on the rocks and we spent a while appreciating this before the rain came again and we decided to move on. Around the next corner in the taxi we spotted our first Isabella Tortoise, again like the Santa Cruz ones, it was looking healthy and standing on all fours in the middle of the road.


The wall of tears was somewhat of a let down, but the Finches were excellent and most entertaining. Now Dad was exhausted and the rains were coming back judging by the colours of the sky, so we decided to call it quits and return to the B&B. That night was the start of Galapagos Lobster season, so Dad was determined to try one. I was suspicious, but went along with it as it was not much more than we were paying for dinner anyway. It was a disappointment - with Dad declaring afterwards, “I am not going to bother with that again!”


The next morning we got up early for our boat trip to Los Tuneles, an area to the west of Puerto Villamil where the lava flows have formed picturesque tunnels on the coast. This sounded nice, but the main attraction here was the snorkelling and the variety of fish, amphibians and mammals that reside there. With the weather being drizzly and the seas rough it has to be said that Dad was not looking forward to this so much, however with a rental snorkel, flippers and a wet suit, I felt all would be OK . As we arrived there was a delay in our departure so we sat on the dock to wait. Whilst we did a huge flock of blue footed Boobys flew over the port and started dive bombing a shoal of fish right next to us. This was exhilarating and we all watched spellbound as the huge birds hurtled into the water at speeds of 90 km. Soon the large Galapagos Pelicans joined in and the scene was extraordinary. As the tide was out, the fish seemed trapped in shore, concentrated in small areas by the boats and this added to the spectacle. Some tourists snorkelling were caught up in the mayhem. However it was over as soon as it had started and the birds soon disappeared. “This is what I wanted to see,” I thought.


There were about 15 of us in the boat including some French, the two English students from the Volcano trip plus an American family. Eduardo (a friend of Sirco’s) was the guide and a man with an uncanny likeness to John Travolta was the captain . Off we went in the launch which was quite similar to the boat we crossed the islands in. Luckily the seas were not as rough as that crossing, but it was still choppy. First up we passed a strange large rock in the centre of the ocean which some Sea Lions and a couple of Nazca Boobys had made their own. As we passed that and continued to approach the snorkel site the Captain announced that some other boats were already there, so rather than congest the site, we would go off and have a look for some whales, whilst we waited for them to finish.


JT pointed the launch out into the ocean and turned on what appeared to be a sonar. Within 10 mins he thought he had located some Humpbacks, however, they were not Humpbacks but some other smaller kind of whale. Try as we might we could not identify them and eventually let them be. It was nice to see he did not get too close and we really only saw their fins.


Now we sailed straight into the bay created by the Lava Tunnels, moored the boat and climbed out . This enabled us to gaze at these strange formations and see the Blue Footed Boobys who had nested on and around them. The birds seemed unconcerned about the group of us tramping around their nesting site (uncomfortably situated on these lava formations) taking photos. Some of the eggs had hatched and tiny boobys were visible underneath their parents bodies. However some had offspring were surprisingly large and just lounged around their parents blue feet. I do like these birds and they are some of my favourites. Whilst it was a shame to miss out on their courtship “dance” they are still memorable, oddly gazing at us with their crossed eyed expression. Soon JT put on the theme song from Titanic and we knew it was time to leave. Back on the boat we all changed and we soon arrived at the first snorkel site. This area next to the lava Tunnels is famous as the habitat of the largest seahorse in the world, and immediately we entered the cold water Eduardo immediately started looking for it . The few fish we encountered were nice and the coral interesting but on the whole the area was much more barren than I had expected. Meanwhile Dad got into trouble with his snorkel and started to panic. Luckily the French were on hand to pacify him before I arrived with Eduardo. Soon he was OK and we carried on the search.


It was eventually Eduardo who spotted this “enormous” sea horse sheltering on a cluster of seaweed. It was certainly large and about the size of a large camera lens as it cowered away in the seaweed whilst we all took turns in diving down with our underwater cameras. It certainly seemed to take all this attention in its stride, however I am not sure whether seahorses show much emotion anyway.


After spotting this we dragged Dad back into the boat and headed off towards the next dive spot. This was where the lava flows have entered the sea created cavernous shelters which “hide many animals,” Eduardo added. Back into the sea we went and Dad initially appeared happier with his different snorkel. Straight away we bumped, literally for some of us, into a huge marine turtle gently gliding through the shallows. I was quite surprised at first and immediately swam off following it and in the process almost colliding straight into a second one. They were vast, beautifully coloured with prominent eyes and a large “beak”. Again they both seemed quite unconcerned by us and one stopped to feed or graze. Unfortunately there was a large amount of algae in the water so at times visibility was not easy. As I was following the turtle I felt a tap on the leg and Eduardo started pointed in another direction over some purple corals. I swam there and appeared over half a dozen dinner plate size Rays swimming in a close formation. They were again remarkably agile and their golden colours stood out nicely against the corals.


Soon the English couple were beckoning me over to a different area where they had seen a single white tipped shark, but the algae was very thick there and I could not see much. Then I noticed the French in the distance entering a small lagoon underneath a laval arch and I hurried over to where they were excitedly chatting. When I arrived they had disappeared around a corner of lava and so I just decided to swim around this lagoon. As I looked back at the coral, underneath me, at first a large shadow loomed and then a huge shark appeared. It swam underneath and past me in touching distance and I watched in disbelief as its full-length, head, gills and a white tipped fin and eventually a tail just passed underneath me. WOW. Could not get the camera to work at that moment. These sharks are (apparently) not dangerous and can be only two feet long, but this one was much bigger.


It was then that I heard the French at the entrance to a submerged cave with JT, who was taking them underwater (by hand) and showing them the cave before pulling them back out one at a time. Eventually it was my turn and although the water was murky I could just make out a smaller White Tip shark in the corner, appearing to look at me with its black eye. The camera did not work again - as the visibility was bad.


Off to the next cave entrance I swam following the French only to find Dad there with Eduardo and being taken down by him. In a matter of minutes he re-emerged with Eduardo and with a big smile. When I was taken down the water here was much clearer and there were up to seven White Tip Sharks in this cave illuminated by the sunlight permeating the other side of the cave. This time the camera worked. Whilst I was back on the surface, one came out and swan directly between my legs.


JT now signalled it was time to return to the boat and as we swam back I noticed a huge gigantic Ray on the bottom. It was black and not flat but con caved and with a large eye. I swam to get Eduardo, thinking this maybe a Sting Ray and making sure not to step on it it. Eduardo soon confirmed this gigantic Ray was in fact a Sting Ray and I circled above it taking photos in the murky waters.  


This turned out to be a monumental trip and a huge thanks to the crew and Eduardo. We now got hold of our packed lunch and JT put his foot down to get us back to port. Back at the main port Dad and I thought we would remain at the harbour area and photograph the Pelican’s fishing. They were sporadically circling the area where the small fishing boats were moored and dive bombing a cluster of fishes. We said goodbye to the rest of the tourists and settled down of the sea front. However with minutes a huge flock of Blue Footed Boobys emerged and suddenly the whole port was mayhem as hundreds of birds starting dive bombing this shoal. It was chaos, as snorkelling tourists boats, sea lions all got caught up in this ferocious bombardment. It was much like the earlier scene except there were far more birds bombing. The flock of birds (by now joined by several dozen Pelicans) just followed the fish shoal as it tried to hide beneath the pier, by the boats and then headed for the beach and the mangroves. The nose, the action and the scene was overwhelming. All of a sudden it was over, as quickly as it had started. It was a perfect end to a great day.


The next day was our last day on Isabella Island and we packed up and checked out after breakfast. As we were booked on an afternoon ferry I was determined to get back in the sea snorkelling and this time at the pier, where we had witnessed the Booby action yesterday. Of course I had not planned for the tide being out, but as soon as I found a wetsuit and snorkel I was back in. This time I took the advice of Sirco who advised me to find a shoal of small fish, (“they live around the fishing boats”, he added) and remain with them. It did not take long to locate them in the shallow water and within minutes I could see the Pelicans circling overhead. Suddenly without warning two dived hitting the water only a few feet from me. Sirco was right it was great. The water was also murky but I found that if I was close enough, I could see the Pelican underwater with mouth open charging into the shoal after the dive. What I had not expected was the waiting Penguins. Actually I hardly noticed them before when we were standing on the pier, but in the water they took on a cheeky attitude, seeking out the diving Pelicans and harassing them if a bird managed to get a gulp of fish underwater, attempting to steal a mouthful. As soon as they saw me they must have assumed I was also a predator and they were quickly all around me, sometimes five or six right up in my face mask showing no fear. It was quite amazing, but more was to come, because the other animal I had yet to encounter was the sea lions.


I continued to swim above the shoal watching the Penguins dive in and out of it. Watching this shoal dodge these attacks by diving and quickly rising to surface was fascinating if somewhat difficult in this bad visibility water. Right then I felt some touch my fins and turned around to see two sea lions playing together and diving around my fins. It was an amazing experience as they were so quick and agile and were so playful. I saw them twist and turn around my yellow fins and then chase the shoal or a penguin before coming back to me. One would come up to my face mask and blow bubbles. I ended up following this action for a full forty minutes.


All too soon it was time to leave and I had to return the equipment and then we collected our bags and returned to the pier for another lengthy checkin and luggage examination period.