We have breakfast at 6.30 and then leave for a dry landing and walk. It is a beautiful morning and we climb into the pangas and drive across the bay to Islote Tintereros.

Here there are nesting marine iguanas. Two are sitting by a seat on the pier as we disembark but we see few others.

We have to keep strictly to the path and walk in single file as we do not want to tread on the nesting sites. Lizards dart between the lava and bask in the sunshine.

There is an unpleasant smell which turns out to be sea lion poo. We make an effort not to stand on it. The scenery is barren with occasional scruffy plants around the edges. We round a corner and spot sea lions on the beach ahead. The sun is in the wrong direction for particularly good photographs however I do manage to capture one or two.

We finally arrive at a beautiful little cove with a sandy beach where we watch sea lions playing in the water and just chilling. They are totally unperturbed by our presence and it is refreshing and surprising to be able to be so close and yet the animals completely ignore you. A huge change from the Amazon experience. Indeed everything here could not be further removed from the lush paradise that we have just left. This environment is as harsh as it is hot and yet life abounds.

We make our way back to the panga. There is a channel that is frequented by sharks and seals and we had hoped to see them swimming through and be able to take good photographs. Sadly today we are not in luck. I do see three sharks in the bay and I suspect that in half an hours time they will indeed be swimming through the channel.

We return to Solaris and need to be ready to leave again at 10:30 as we are to go snorkelling. As it turns out the chosen beach is not a good choice and we go to an alternative spot which involves a short walk along a boardwalk through the mangrove swamps to a sheltered pool. We have to watch our footing. Iguanas are sunbathing and make no effort to move.

Entry is via wide steps. The water is much clearer than yesterday and I can see a variety of fish. I see an absolutely enormous turtle and a sea lion also pops his head up just yards away. Annoyingly my mask keeps steaming up. I changed the one I had yesterday as it was too small and I have a brand-new one. I need to take it back to my room and rub toothpaste on it to remove the manufacturing film. I think this will solve my problem.

As we walk back to the boat it is amazing to see sea lions on the other side of the road lazing about outside a café and lying directly underneath a hammock.

Lunch is good with soup, teriyaki pork chops and fish in a garlic sauce with salad followed by caramelised pineapple and ice cream. There is no way I am going to lose weight on this trip. After lunch we go to the tortoise breeding centre where we are told all about the program. They have bred approximately 12,000 tortoises for release into the wild. The carapaces are different shapes depending on their habitat. Some have domed openings above their heads, whilst others are flat because they are ground grazers. At one time there were probably 3 million tortoises here.  Numbers had fallen to just 300 in the 70s and have now recovered to about 35,000 thanks to the breeding program eradicate alien species like goats, donkeys and rats.

We then walk from the breeding centre along a path over a lava flow, along walkways through the mangroves and down to the beach. Along the route we see marine iguanas, a red-legged stilt, a pink flamingo and some ducks.

We are told not to touch the overhanging trees that are covered with little green fruit. These are poison apples and even the tree sap is caustic. We are shown a non-native creeping plant which is clematis like and scrambles over other vegetation choking it out. This is a real problem for the islands and there is a continual program to try and eliminate non-native species.

We walk through the little of town of Tintereros where we can purchase souvenirs, ice creams and beers. Jane and I find cornettos. Very welcome in the heat.

Dinner is pasta with a choice of sauces. It has been a long day and bed is calling.