Exploring Galapagos – Isla Lobos, Ochoa and Loberia Beaches

Isla Lobos Excursion – Where saying “boobies” is appropriate

Lila and Elena are already up enjoying their breakfast by the time I arrive. I find a seat at a long table and see Marty a few seats down, busily checking on things back at the office while tapping away on his keyboard. A couple from Colombia sit next to me and I practice my Spanish. We discuss the political situation in their country and of course the American president’s name comes up. I quickly change the subject and announce I’m from Canada. They smile and go back to their breakfast.

James Leon (retired U.S. Navy pilot) sits across from me and we chat a bit about living in Las Vegas and how he plans to move back to Tennessee. He has quite the drawl. The coffee is a tad on the weak side; a little watered down but still warm. The Ecuadorians warm their milk like they do in Spain. Cafe con leche (coffee with milk) is usually my go-to in the morning but today I revert to black coffee hoping the caffeine buzz works. It doesn’t.

Galapagos Islands Food Supply

We learn later that food is grown on small agricultural farms but certainly not enough to supply the amount of locals and tourists so a large percentage is shipped in. Things like cereal and other processed food arrive by ship from the mainland. The best thing to do is to stick to the seasonal fruits and vegetables and certainly fish or chicken. Every day is fresh fruits and juices and lots of plantain. There are 330,000+ tourists to the Galapagos Islands every year. There has been a sharp increase in tourism since the pandemic. People, like myself, are realizing that life is too short and now is as good a time as any to visit.

Isla Lobos Hike

Not everyone is on the snorkelling adventure today. I like the fact I can choose my own adventure. Others are going to grab a cab or explore on their own. James Leon is heading to Kicker Rock. I mistakenly booked two Highland adventures and Kicker Rock wasn’t available. I will have to live vicariously through Leon. Elena and I pout a few times because we really wanted to do Kicker. I guess we will have to return another time.

We walk to the pier to catch a water taxi for 1 USD that takes us to our snorkelling boat out in the harbour. We board the boat and head out to Isla Lobos. During the boat ride, I ask the guide what the terrain is like. He responds, “There are some rocks to walk over but not too many.” Satisfied with his answer, I sit back and relax.

The boat ride is lovely. We are tendered to the island on a zodiac which in itself is an adventure for me. 1) Climb up onto the seat, 2) Sit on the side of the boat rail, 3) Slide my legs around and 4) Step down into the zodiac.

That’s all fine and good when your knees bend, but mine are a little stiff. The attendants are helpful though and I successfully plant my butt on the side of the zodiac and hold the handle tightly. As we motor closer to shore, the turquoise water ripples and sparkles in the sunshine and it is so clear you can see the sandy bottom. It is beautiful.

We make our way to a rock dock where we find a sea lion lounging across our path. She looks up indifferently, winks her beautiful eyes and falls back to sleep. Sea lions own the Galapagos. You are not to feed, touch or interfere with the animals in any way. They can rest wherever they want. We step around or over the sea lion and make our way up some rocks to the flatter terrain to meet our guide. This is where it goes a little array. I think to myself, “Cool those were the rocks he mentioned and now we will follow a pathway to see the birds.” Reality smacks me in the face. The guide hands us bamboo walking poles and provides instructions. “Take your time and watch yourself!”

We begin clambering over lava rocks for what seems like 20 minutes but it was probably half of that. I’m terrified I’m going to fall and hurt myself. I’m protective of my 5 year old shaking knees. The guide holds my hand and attempts to distract me with conversation. I begin to relax and laugh a bit when we hit the end, I let out a deep sigh of relief, take a drink of water and focus on the scenery. The ocean is pounding against the rocks causing huge spray plumes. It is beautiful. The aquamarine blue of the ocean, the white foam and the black lava rocks are magnificent against the blue sky and white clouds. Marine iguanas are splayed on the lava rocks pointing their faces towards the sun. The wildlife pays little notice to us. It is spectacular!

We come across the path of two blue-footed boobies who are coupled up in the bushes. They are remarkable birds with their robin’s egg blue legs and feet. We missed nesting season, but to see the adults in their natural habitat is still really cool.

BIRDERS NOTE: The blue-footed booby lay their eggs between May and August. The incubation period of booby eggs is around 45 days and the male and female share the task of keeping the eggs warm.

I didn’t get a decent close-up photo of the frigate birds but Elena managed to grab a shot of me with a male in the background. Thanks Elena! They are a fascinating sea bird and more on this next time.

After learning about boobies and frigates, we continue along more lava rocks to the meeting spot and observe sea lions once again lounging wherever they want; under mangrove trees, on the sand, on rocks or in the water. The zodiac is summoned to tender us and back to the boat. It is time for a quick snack before we go for a snorkel.

Isla Lobos Snorkel – Dancing with Sea Lions

Back on the boat, we are presented with a lovely buffet of fresh fruit, juice and baked goods. Sure let’s eat something before squeezing into our wet suits. There are other people onboard from Germany. We enjoy some friendly conversation and have some laughs while getting suited up.

I grab my GoPro camera and hit the water. The ocean water feels amazing after that island hike. Time to test the camera’s underwater feature. It was fun using the flippers to dive down but you didn’t have to go too deep to see beautiful fish, urchins and the best of all, sea lions. Their underwater ballet is mesmerizing to watch. Once again, we keep our distance, but Elena and I are rewarded with 3 playing in front of us. We lift our heads out of the water, our faces light up and we giggle with delight.

If there was any complaint, it would be that the snorkelling portion wasn’t long enough. It was just a taste. The time it takes to get everyone into their wetsuits, masks defogged and into the water, much of the time allotted is used up. The highlight is definitely the sea lions.

Ochoa Beach – Ouch!

Back on the boat, we enjoy our included lunch and lazily lounge in the sun before heading to Ochoa Beach. We are tendered by zodiac to the beach. Don’t get me wrong, the beach is lovely, but there is nothing to do. We have our towels and our water bottles. There is a group of students with their guide exploring the rocks and some break away running into the shallow water. Me, I take a walk along the shoreline swatting pesky horseflies from my legs. Ouch they hurt!

I did a little research on horseflies. Apparently, only the female bites and unlike mosquitos who puncture the skin, horseflies slash your skin and don’t use an anesthetic which is why they produce immediate pain. These ladies use the protein in the blood of humans, cattle, etc. for egg reproduction. Doesn’t that ease the pain? NO!

Horsefly season is December to April in the Galapagos Islands.

Many of us are standing on the beach swatting horseflies while our guide chills with a female guide, paying little attention to us. I try to distract myself by taking artistic shots of the beach. The rocks with water gently bubbling over them are lovely. and if I was much of an artist, I would enjoy painting this landscape. My thought was other than the beauty of the beach, this is a wasted activity. I would extend the snorkelling. Just saying.

Suddenly, a stingray floats up to the shallows attracting us to the shoreline and then quickly swims away. My swim suit is almost dry from snorkelling and I don’t feel like getting wet again. Besides, you can’t bring sand back into the boat, so staying dry is important.

In the Galapagos Islands, you can be fined up to 15,000 USD and a lifetime ban if any sand is removed. Sand must remain. The tour companies are diligent about this because they could lose their operating license.

After about 1 hour of swatting horseflies, the attendant summons the zodiac and we tender back to the boat and sail back to San Cristobal Island.

Loberia Beach

The day is not over yet. We have another snorkelling adventure. After a bit of a rest, we hop into public taxis and head to Loberia Beach.

Our female guide, Angela, meets us in the lobby and splits us into groups of 4 and taxis take us to the beach. This excursion is included in the package so most of us went. Lila decided she had enough of snorkelling and the horseflies so she stayed behind. FOMO (fear of missing out), got the better of me. We gathered at the beach entrance and grabbed bags of snorkel gear out of the back of a pick up truck and headed to the beach. We walked about 10 minutes in the sand. The terrain isn’t much different–sand and rocks. The sea lions are perched on rocks while marine iguanas are doing their usual sun basking. I am looking forward to more snorkelling.

The equipment is poor quality. The fins are curved downwards making it difficult to walk. We are told to enter the water backwards, but most of us decide that hitting our heads on a rock is not in the plan today, so we enter facing forward.

We leave our belongings at a post on an elevated portion of the beach assured they would still be there when we return. An alpha male sea lion belches and makes his way up the beach. I could watch sea lions all day. They are incredibly entertaining, but the horseflies are gnawing at my legs, so into the water I must go.

The water is lovely and no wet suit is required. I make sure my legs are sunscreen and the best purchase I made was a swim shirt. I might not come home with a tan, but at least I won’t get burned. We kick our way around the bay and see some fish and a sea turtle. Angela had a good underwater camera and took some cool shots of Elena and shared them with us later on. I included them at the end of the next video. You will see Elena diving with the sea turtle on the ocean floor.

While I was in the water, I snuck up behind Scott and gently touched his leg. He immediately raised his head in surprise. We had a good laugh about that. I must find that camera footage.

Needless to say, I was very tired at the end of this day and although the horseflies were annoying, I fell into bed still smiling.