Swimming with sea lions on San Cristobal

Yesterday was a rest day on the island of San Cristobal, so a great chance to catch up on some rugby games, and sort out some things from home, since I have been traveling for so long. It was also change over day on the boat, so a whole new group of people arrived for the next week. Unfortunately, the WiFi only works in the salon of the ship, so pretty much a couch day too. I also went for a walk around Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, the capital of the island, and the oldest settlement in the Galápagos Islands. There is a small beach in the town which is exclusively reserved for the sea lions that inhabit the area. The sea lions can be seen lounging on the decks of the anchored boats and have taken over park benches and many of the footpaths! The weather here is affected by the Humboldt current that flows north from Chile, so the mornings are foggy with sensational clear sunny afternoons. The town seems to be full of Charles Darwin statues and busts - Some bear absolutely no resemblance! Darwin's visit to San Cristóbal Island in 1835, played a crucial role in his development of the theory of evolution. He collected data and made observations on the island's unique flora and fauna, which later influenced his groundbreaking work, "On the Origin of Species". Today went for a long beach walk, on a stunning white sand beach. We had a snorkel with the most playful sea lions of the whole trip and then a spectacular cliff top walk of Punta Pitt at the top of the island. We also saw a huge pod of false killer whales, and some amazing dolphins that seemed to jump twice their size out of the water!, Just another day in the Galapagos. Tonight we head south to Isla Espanola for what promises to be another incredible day.