Overnight we travel to the south-western coast of Isabela. We anchor at Moreno Point and go ashore for, we are told, a dry landing. Well it is dry if you get it right, but there is no dock. The pangas carefully manoeuvre up to the rocky shoreline and we carefully disembark onto the sharp and uneven lava flow. I am very glad I decided to wear my walking boots. The terrain is uneven, with jagged lava and loose cracked plates. It looks like a lunar landscape. Unlike anywhere I have ever been before. Occasional cactus, grasses and scrubby trees have somehow managed to take root in places.

We see some Darwin Cactus Finches….

…. and are given a geology lesson on volcanoes. On the way back we see flightless cormorants and penguins.

Turtles abound as do sea lions which are continually popping up around the panga.

We go back to the boat and have 20 minutes to change before going snorkelling. I decide to not wear a wetsuit but get a shock when I slide off the side into the water.

It is way colder than yesterday. There are thermoclines and the water close to shore is much warmer. I am filming a large shoal of fish when a sea lion photobombs the footage (extract photo from video below)

How cool. I am thrilled. It was only a brief encounter but it is excellent footage. There are loads of turtles. The weather is clear and I have good video of them too. The sea life is abundant and wonderful to experience.

Lunch is huge and consists of an Ecuadorian speciality of tuna in a spicy sort of soup. It was pretty filling and yet there is more to follow. It turns out this was the starter and the main course was a choice of fish or tiger prawns, rice and salad. We are certainly not going to starve on this trip. Whilst we eat lunch, the boat weighs anchor and we motor up the coastline to Tagus Cove. Somebody shouts dolphins and we rush outside, but in fact it is sea lions, behaving exactly like dolphins and swimming in formation and jumping out of the water as they swim. We are also treated to frigate birds taking advantage of the air currents above the bow. They hover and soar above our heads on the top deck.

Initially there is only one bird but shortly it is joined by several others. They squabble in mid-flight and soar back and forth above our heads literally feet away. They probably stay with us for at least an hour and it is just a completely astonishing experience.

We set anchor at Tagus Cove and again go snorkelling. Jane has decided to try and snorkel again this afternoon. I gave her a lesson a couple of days ago in the shallow water and hope that will enable her to be more confident in the deep water. She is wearing a wetsuit so that will aid buoyancy. Fingers crossed. I also decide to wear a wetsuit, as I believe the water will be cold. In fact, it was a reasonable temperature, but as we are close to the rocks and there is a strong swell , the suit offers a little protection from potential grazes. We slip off the side of the boat. There is a strong swell which washes us several feet towards the rocky shoreline before pushing us back to where we started. There are masses of turtles they come very close to us and equally are pushed to and fro in the strong currents. There are eight of us in our tender and we swim largely as a group along the shoreline. There are lots of fish of all sizes and varieties and a chocolate chip starfish.

Then something shoots past me. Wow! It’s a penguin chasing fish. I cannot believe it. I really did not think this would be something that I would see, though I very much hoped I would. A second penguin appears, a large turtle swims  directly beneath me and then a large white tip shark nonchalantly cruises past my right shoulder – pretty much within touching distance. My camera has steamed up so no photos but AMAZING. Just AMAZING!!!!!

After the best part of an hour we return to our boat and are welcomed with hot chocolate and biscuits. The heat has built up and a heavy rain shower looks like it is coming our way.

We have a quick change before setting out again in the panga to cruise along the coastline in the hope of seeing penguins and blue-footed boobies.

We are not disappointed and also see pelicans nesting with young chicks, flightless cormorants, sea lions and noddys. Iguanas rest on the ledges and sally lightfoot crabs scavenge on the wet rocks.

Sea lions again join us, manta rays make enormous jumps in the distance and then a most amazing rainbow appears above the sea.

Could this day get any better? Dinner is sushi which is very good. We then go on deck to see a sea lion asleep on the stern decking. I have no idea how it managed to get aboard. It was not at all bothered by us watching it.