La Loberia

It seems like there is something memorable we experience every day here, but for the animal lovers amongst us, today was something special. Our plan is to take things a little more released, so we take a short cab ride to a beach called La Loberia, where we plan to spend the day snorkeling and relaxing on the sand. We picked the location because it is home to a large sea lion colony, so figure it will also give us a chance to see them up close and personal (although the ones in town certainly aren’t shy, and as we walk home at night, you have to almost step over them to get where you are going).

On the way in from the road, we spot a couple of hefty marine iguanas sunning themselves on the volcanic rocks. Galapagos is the only place you can see these guys, and they are the only lizard that spends part of it’s life in the sea.

We are not disappointed when we arrive, as there are easily 50 sea lions and pups sprawled out on the sand or under the trees taking advantage of a little shade. There is a large male swimming back and forth in the water keeping tabs on his ladies, so while we’re waiting for him to get tired, we take a few pictures of the pups and hike a bit further down the down to see if we can find anything interesting (we can’t).

After burning an hour or so, the big male shows no signs of leaving the water, but he does seem to be sticking to one end of the beach, so Sam and I figure we can safely enter at the other and do some snorkeling. We’re not in more than a few minutes when we come face to face with a large sea turtle. It is easily the closest I have ever been to one, and it seems entirely indifferent to our being there, calmly munching away at the algae on the rocks. With the underwater camera, we get some great videos and snapshots.

Mom is on the shore keeping a look out for mean sea lions, and as Sam and I start coming back, she lets us know we’ve been spotted, and that the big male seems none too happy that we are on his turf. Not really knowing the proper strategy for dealing with a 600 pound sea lion, we go for the “don’t move” approach. It seems to work, as he glides by just a few feet in front of us, and before he has a chance to turn around, we’re up and out of the water.

Now things get interesting. While we are all down at the shore, one of the sea lion pups has decided to make a thorough check of our stuff. He’s oblivious to our presence, so we just stand back and watch the show.

For the next couple of hours we just chill. Mom and I read books, while Sam plays in the sand, eventually burying most of his body. While we’re minding our own business, along comes another of the pups, sniffing around to check us out. Sam seems especially interesting, a fact he attributes to having disguised himself as a sea lion. To lazy to go around when he is finished, the pup crawls up and over Angela’s legs and heads off into the trees.

In addition to the turtles and sea lions, we are also entertained by the finches. Totally wild, they have no concern about flying right over and landing on our things. As Sam is buried in the sand, they even land on his chest, trying to get a closer look at these funny red and white creatures.

All in all, it is one of those days that I think can only happen in the Galapagos, where so much of the wildlife has evolved without knowing fear of people. It is the kind of think I remember from my travel here so many years ago, and what made it a natural place to include on this trip when Sam chose Peru. From the stories he tells his brothers on FaceTime, I think it is also a day he will remember forever, and I can’t think of a better outcome than that.