Isla Lobos

Weather: 80-85, really sunny and hot

Today for class we headed to Lobos Island for a hike and a snorkel. We met at a dive shop at 7:30am and got our snorkel gear for the day. After we were all set we headed to the pier to wait for our boat. The guy said it would be a couple minutes as the crew had to clean off the boat because the sea lions dirtied the boat during the night. All the sea lions here climb onto the boats and hang out for night, pooping during that time as well. This obviously makes the boat operators job a little harder than necessary but the boat didn't smell at all when we got on so that was nice.

Lobos is right off the coast of San Cristobal, you could easily swim from Lobos to San Cristobal. The boat ride there was about 35-40 minutes and when we arrived we took a zodiac to the shore of Lobos. As soon as we got off we saw a baby sea lion in the rocks and another one right in the path. They are absolutely adorable and it never gets old seeing them. Our guide Martin took us on the hike and we were all sweating off every drop of sunscreen we put on. There was no shade on the island and the sun was directly hitting us. The sweat was worth it because we saw a ton of frigate birds nesting. They are so cool, the males have an elaborate red chest that they inflate to attract females. They're were so many we past that were nesting and there were some big spiderwebs as well which was quite frightening (luckily it was only the first 2 minutes of the hike and then we didn't see anymore).

We got towards the shoreline and the view was breathtaking. You could clearly see Kicker Rock in the distance which is where people go diving and snorkeling. There's a lot of sharks there and apparently I get to go there for one of my classes. I'm excited to see sharks but also hesitant because I've never been close to one in the water. As we kept on walking we saw a blue footed booby! I was thrilled because I got some close up shots of it. I have seen the boobies at Puerto Chino beach but they were hard to get photos of. We saw a lot of marine iguana nests as well. We had to be careful where we stepped because they just dig holes in the ground and if they're in the nest you can see the head of them if they're buried deep. Some of the nests we saw the tails were hanging out. This could have been the male because usually the females go deep into the nest to keep cool. It was pretty sad but we saw about 2 dead sea lion pups. Apparently this can be pretty common and they can die for a multitude of reasons. Their moms may have died so obviously they

have no food source, they could be sickly, and sometimes if food resources are low the mother will abandon the baby because they're too hard to feed. It was sad but nature does happen so we kept on walking and saw lots more of the frigate birds nesting.

I just soaked up the views as it was so beautiful and the water was crystal clear and bright blue. We saw another blue footed booby just hanging out as we were getting ready to leave, and a baby sea lion was sitting on the stairs when we were waiting for the zodiac to come get us to bring us back to the boat. Seeing sea lions just lounging everywhere has become the new normal but it really never gets old watching them. They are so playful and they love attention, they're just adorable.

We got back onboard and put on our snorkel gear and hopped in the water. It was absolutely gorgeous and so refreshing. It was literally like bath water, after sweating so much I couldn't have asked for anything better. I had some trouble with my snorkel mask, it was kind of leaky but I wasn't going to let that stop me from having an awesome time. I adjusted the mask as needed and kept going. We saw schools of fish and some people saw a ray. Some fish were big and there were a couple schools of smaller fish. We didn't see any

sea lions but the fish were so cool. I also saw a lot of sea urchins and a sand dollar bigger than my hand. It amazes me how much you can see here just by snorkeling. It really is incredible especially when you compare it to home. A lot people are getting dive certified here, it's $400 which is pretty cheap compared to the states. I opted not to do it since I didn't budget for it and diving in MA is not as great. I'm just as happy snorkeling.

Eventually we had to return to the boat and they prepared a lunch that consisted of grilled tuna, rice, and a salad (which was cabbage and carrots). I only had little nibbles of everything because while we were snorkeling I swallowed a lot of salt water so I wasn't too hungry. We hung out for about a half hour eating and talking as a class and then the boat drove 5 minutes to Ochoa Beach. You can't get to this beach by hiking it is strictly by boat. We all jumped off the boat and swam to shore. They offered to take us by zodiac but we were so close to the beach and we all wanted to cool off again. The sand was really fine and there was a little swamp like lagoon thing if you walked a bit past where everyone was on the shore. There was a lot of algae growing and salt on the rocks. The water was pretty clear, but it as a greenish orange color. After spending about 20 minutes on shore we all hopped back in the water and swam for the boat. The day came to an end and we headed back to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno for 1:15.

When we returned I was craving some fruit because my breakfast was patacones which are the fried bananas, with cheese, and yogurt. So I stopped at a market and got myself an apple and then the bread store for a roll to hold me over til dinner. At 7:30pm, a lot of us from the program went to help teach English to some locals. Only 4 people showed up, I guess there were supposed to be a lot more than that, but the teachers (who are Americans) think they may have gotten scared when they told them they were going to practice speaking. One of the teachers (Lena) actually did the exact program I am in now last semester and she begged to stay behind so she is now teaching English. The other teacher is also from the states and she went to school to become a teacher. I guess she was teaching in Quito for some time, and then saw the opportunity to teach in the islands so she has been here for about 2 months I think. She will be here for a year and she was talking about how the adjustment has been hard for her at times. She is adjusting to the island time and thinks it will be really hard to get back into the crazy pace of the United States. They're both awesome people so I was happy to help them out, and it gave me something to do as well as meet the locals. Next week, we're going to try talking in Spanish as well so us Americans strengthen our speaking skills as well. I'm looking forward to that, as I really want to learn more, but with the wifi being bad

Rosetta Stone is out of the mix for now. After the English session we all went to grab dinner, I had some fish and chips that were pretty good. Afterwards, most of the girls went out to a bar that was releasing a new beer, but I was tired and not feeling it. I ended up walking around a bit with Sara and Praanjal (who was in my last class) for a bit catching up. Praanjal is from India originally but attends school in Ohio at Case Western. He came here with zero Spanish skills so it hasn't been the easiest time since his family here speaks no English. He lucked out in Quito because his mom spoke a good amount of English. On our walk we stopped by his house so he could get some water. Sara and I ended up talking to his host dad or grandad in Spanish. He spoke really fast so at times it was hard for me to follow him. When Praanjal returned he told him he needs to hang with us more so he learns more Spanish. We continued to walk and Praanjal explained he doesn't think his host dad/grandad likes him because he can't speak it well, and that he tries to follow but he speaks too fast. i'm sure things will improve for him. When I got to Quito I had the same impression of Ines but clearly that was not the case.

I headed home and went straight to bed, the heat has made it hard to sleep. I've started wearing ear plugs to avoid being awoken by Helena when she starts screaming. It has taken some time but I'm making some adjustments myself (like the ear plugs) to help me feel more at home. Overall, it was a great long day!