We slept hard after the long, exciting day before. Since the tide was low in the morning on Floreana, we had another early start to the morning. After breakfast, we went on a half hour hike to Loberia Beach, where we were going snorkeling.
Alex said we’d likely see a lot of sea turtles and fish there. He also forewarned us that there was a large bull sea lion on the other side of the point. This meant we should stay in the water and avoid going on shore, otherwise, it might try to bite – or mate with – us! NOTED … stay in the water.
Loving life with a baby sea lion
The waves at Loberia were quite strong, making the water a bit murky with sediment since it’s just off shore. We were swimming and floating around with the sea turtles for a half hour or so when a sea lion decided to join us. Alex confirmed it was a female and just a few months old. She was SO playful, getting so close that I even touched one of her back flippers. One of the cutest things … she kept finding shells and coral on the bottom of the ocean floor and would chew and play with it like it was her own toy. It reminded me of my dogs; the behavior was so similar.
We played around with her for a good hour before eventually heading back to shore. She followed us all the way, seeming disappointed we were ending play time so early. Kajsa, one of the Swedish gals in our group, were the last to get to shore. As we did, our new friend swam between us and hopped up on a rock. She barked her goodbye to everyone before hopping back in the water. This is indisputably the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced. Playing in the ocean with a wild, baby sea lion!
Views from the highlands
We were all pretty intoxicated from our snorkeling adventure the entire walk back to our guesthouses. We had an hour to rest before lunch, which like the night before, consisted of a vegetable soup starter, and a main of rice, veggies, and grilled protein. Afterwards, our truck picked us up and brought us to the highlands, which were noticeably much cooler.
Once up in the highlands, we saw a few more land tortoises and listened as Alex talked about how the island first became inhabited in the 1800s. The views were really lovely. It was a nice, easy ending to a busy, adrenaline-filled morning.
A rum-filled sunset
We had a few hours to do our thing after the highlands. Since we needed to leave early the next morning, we went back to pack up our stuff, clean up, and catch a cat nap before heading back to Black Beach to catch another sunset.
A group of us agreed to go in on a bottle of rum (it was a steal at $15 compared to everything else) so we could enjoy some more Cuba Libres as we watched the sunset. One bottle turned into two, so we had a nice buzz by the time we got to dinner.
Dinner was similar to the night before – soup starter with rice, veggies, and grilled protein for dinner. I had visions of the dancing baby sea lion in my head as I nodded off to sleep that night.
Cecilia the TravelGurl 