Lobos del mar

I didn't understand why the island we went to yesterday was called Isla Lobos.  Island of the wolves?  Then I realized that sea lions are called lobos del mar (sea wolves) in Spanish, not leones del mar.  Today we went ashore on Sante Fe island where there was a large pod of sea lions on the beach.  They are way more interesting than I would have expected.  First of all, I know that sea lions are mammals, but I never thought about what that meant, so it was a shock to watch the pups nursing.

The mothers seem practically catatonic.  Meanwhile, there is one huge male that stays in the shallow water protecting his pod.  There was what looked like dog poop all over the beach and I couldn't understand it since there are no dogs here.  Duh.  Sea lions are mammals.  We watched them poop and they have genitalia.  And the pups are as cute as puppies.  By the end of the trip, everyone wanted to take one home.

Their fur is light brown when it is dry although it looks black and slick when wet.  Sea lions, unlike seals, have five toes on their back flippers so they can walk on land.  They move surprisingly fast, and can pull themselves up on rocks where they sleep in the most uncomfortable looking positions.

More snorkeling with large schools of fish today.  Then we went for an afternoon hike and saw the famous Galapagos land iguanas which are bright yellow.

Kind of different but I couldn't get excited about lizards.