Ecuador Day 4

We had to be up by 530 to leave the hotel by 6 to catch a 7am ferry to Isabella. 

Getting to the ferry is a process - waiting in line to get bags checked, then take a rickety water taxi to a small 45 person ferry. The ride was two hours but it was pretty smooth. We are traveling with an EF group from California, so once on Isabella, we got split into a few groups who did the same things in different order. Our group started at the turtle breeding center. There we learned about how they breed the different populations that live on the five volcanoes on the island. 

They breed them at the center and then at a certain age they get returned to their native area. In the wild, their eggs too often get destroyed by rats and other invasive so the breeding program is necessary. After a short walk along a lagoon to see flamingos and other birds, we went back to town for lunch. 

We had a bit of time, so we went for a swim in the ocean and the grabbed some mango smoothies. 

We then went down to the pier for our afternoon adventure. After some wildlife viewing and a walk along a lava island, seeing penguins, blue footed boobies, a lot of marine iguanas, and even some sharks, we went snorkeling. 

We saw lots of damsel fish and other colorful reef dwellers, especially sea horses and a giant pufferfish. The highlight was getting to swim with sea turtles and penguins. 

We went back to the hotel, cleaned up, went to dinner, and then headed back for an even earlier day tomorrow.