It takes 3 hours to get from Santa Cruz to San Cristobal island and the sea was very aggressive so the ride was pretty long and scary, but exciting. Sea wolves are everywhere on this island, the guide said some people find them in their backyards, boats, stores, etc. 

When we arrived there were taxis waiting to take us to the “Loberia” where sea wolves gather by dozens and huge marine turtles are spotted swimming in the bay almost every day. There were many sea wolves on the way but there was one that stole our hearts; from far away we saw it was a mother with its little baby, the baby was about 15 cm, black and furry but as we approached closer we realized it was dead. One of the girls got to close and the mother was quick to spook her away, but it was too late to protect her little one and she knew it, there was a strong sadness in her eyes, she was mourning. 

The guide had already seen some turtle heads coming out of the water to get some air, so we were quick to put our wet suits on and moved into the ocean. It was the first time we’ve ever swam with turtles or seen them in their natural environment and let me tell you it was like a dream. The colors of the ocean seem to have a greenish-blue filter (well yeah it’s called water) that gives all sea life very smooth and delicate tones, reminded me of Van Gogh’s palette of pastels. 

The turtles were not very shy and swam slowly across the ocean, ate some algae which allowed us to enjoy them in detail with extraordinary patience. While admiring one you suddenly realize there is one exactly under you, so our eyes kept busy.

Lunch time came and then a boat ride to “Leon dormido” (sleeping lion), it’s a rock at open sea were sharks, stingrays and other sea life can be seen. The ocean was still very aggressive and there were huge waves. After we jumped off the boat one of the tourists was beginning to have a panic attack and the guide had to rescue him and take him back to the boat. It was quite scary, you couldn’t listen anything, we had no swimming vests and the big waves crashing in your head. I decided to ignore all of it and just swam like crazy between the two rocks to get to the other side, the water was very dark, I couldn’t see absolutely nothing. I got pretty tired at the middle of the way, turned to look back and realized I was the only one so far away so I just breathed deeply, relaxed and let my body be taken by the tide. It was much easier then. Another tourist started to panic as well but after a few minutes he was ok again.

When everyone had crossed we were guided to the back of the rock and saw some stars, a turtle and Bernd saw a shark for a second but they quickly went away and so did we. Another boat ride took us to a bay where we saw more turtles and some sea wolves which are just amazing under water. Outside they seem clumsy and heavy but under they move so gracefully, full of energy. 

The ocean makes you very tired but we were chatting all the way back anyway. When we finally arrived, everyone went back to their hotel and then met again to eat some lobster. I’m not a huge fan (the others were) but if you are, check out the pictures – lobster in coconut and in garlic sauce. It’s weird but it’s served with beans and rice, and yes I’m a beaner so I left the lobster alone and had two plates of beans XD.