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The bay of Tijeretas is one of the only places on Galapagos where you can go snorkeling by yourself without a guide. So we take advantage of this and are rewarded with Galapagos Sea lions (Arctocephalus galapagoensis) on our first visit. They especially like Tom and are really showing off in front of the camera. They are clumsy on land but under water they are elegant swimmers. We even see some Galapagos Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas agassisi), which you can encounter almost everywhere. You can watch them eating or swimming around in the bay. On Playa Loberia, southeast of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, you can see dozens of them eating algae in shallow water, where there also are huge schools of fish.

01_Galapagos_Sealions_cuddling_under_water_(Arctocephalus_galapagoensis-Tijeretas)
02_Taking_it_easy_(Tijeretas)
03_Snorkeling with_sea_lions_in_Tijeretas
04_Seastar_(Heliaster_sp)_and_endemic_green_sea_urchin_(Lytechinus_semituberculatus)(Tijeretas)
05_The_underside_of_this_special_seastar
06_Dancing_under_water_(Tijeretas)
07_Lots_of_Galapagos_green_turtles_(Chelonia_mydas_agassisi)_are_feeding_in_Loberia
08_Lots_of_fish_on_Playa_Loberia

Our highlight of San Cristobal were definitely our two diving trips to Kicker Rock (Leon Dormido), a steep, split in two rock where it goes down to a depth of 100 m. You won't believe it, but right after her first jump into the water Sonja sees her first hammerhead shark ever - a Scalloped Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna lewini). Later during the dive we even see a whole school of them swimming by and we still do not believe our eyes. The water is not clear, but the amount of sharks is overwhelming. Next to the hammerhead sharks there are a lot of Galapagos Sharks (Carcharhinus galapagensis), White-tipped Reef Sharks (Triaenodon obesus) as well as Small Black Tip Sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus). Galapagos Green Turtles float through the water, Spotted Eagle Rays (Aetobatus narinari) fly by majestically and Galapagos Sea Lions show us some acrobatic pirouettes. Inside a huge school of fish, which looks like a living and moving wall, you easily lose direction, colorful overgrown walls full of gorgonian and soft corals, as well as zoanthids provide the setting for this dive. In between we find sea stars, pencil sea urchins, sponges and once in a while a small nudibranch – the endemic Galapagos Blue Slug (Tambja mullineri). And as if all this is not enough we even discover some frigate birds displaying their scarlet gular pouches sitting on top of Kicker Rock. A fantastic place which is also suited for snorkeling. A wish came true for us and we can say that we have never seen so many and different sharks in one place. A wonderful feeling!

09_Dive_spot_Licker_Rock_or_Leon_dormir_west_of_San_Cristobal
10_The_first_scalloped_hammerhead_shark_(Sphyrena_ledwini-Bogenstirn-Hammerhai)
11_School_of_hammerhaed_sharks_passing_us_in_the_nutrient_rich_water
12_Galapagos_shark_(Carcharhinus galapagensis-Galapagoshai)
13_The_wall_is_full_with_sea_fans_or_gorgonian_corals_and_sponges_(Gorgonien_und_Schwämme)
14_Beautiful_gorgonian_sea_fan_coral_(Gorgonie)
15_Endemic_Galapagos_dorid_nudibranch_(Tambja_mulineri-Galapagos_Neonsternschnecke)
16_A_few_spotted_eagle_rays_saying_hello_(Aetobatus_narinari-gefleckter_Adlerrochen)
17_A_small_gap_in_Kicker_Rock
18_Filming_the_huge_school_of_fish
19_Hammerhead_shark_in_the_middle_of_the_moving_wall_of_fish
20_Like_everywhere_around_the_islands_we_encountered_lots_of_Galapagos_green_turtles_(Chelonia_mydas_agassisi-Suppenschildkröte)
21_Lots_of_sharks_in_the_channel_between_the_two_huge_stones
22_Filming
23_View_towards_the_sun
24_Slate_pencil_urchin_grown_over_by_a_sponge_(Griffelseeigel)
25_Zoanthids_and_a_lot_of_Hydrozoans_(Krustenanemonen_und_Hydrozoa)
26_One_lonely_hammerhead_shark_on_our_second_dive
27_Even_Keanu_takes_a_short_snorkel_trip_at_Kicker_Rock
28_Sometimes_the_sea_lions_really_show_off_under_water
29_Torpedo_is_coming
30_Frigate_birds_with_their_red_gular_pouch_sitting_on_Kicker_Rock_and_waiting_for_some_females

During our trip from San Cristobal to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz we find a lot of different animals in the calm and glassy sea. First we spot a few whales. Because of their blow and diving sequence we think they were Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus). Unfortunately they do not show us their underside so we could not make sure. Still it was great to see some whales again.
We are surprised by the amount of jumping Mobula Rays on the way. Sometimes even 5 or 6 jump out of the water at the same time. Later we use a stop to go snorkeling with them. After they get interested in us we find out that they are Japanese Devil Rays (Mobula japanica), which grow to a length span of over 3 m and behave similar to manta rays. First they carefully swim around our boat but after a while they get used to us and come closer. So we were able to observe them very closely. They also feed on plankton, which we see a lot of that day.

31_Our_first_whale_in_Galapagos_and_we_think_it_is_a_Finwhale_(Balaenoptera_physalis-Finwal)
32_Whale_in_front_of_Isla_San_Cristobal
33_One_of_many_mobulas_(Mobula_japanica-Japanischer_Teufelsrochen)_on_our_way_to_Santa_Cruz
34_They_grow_up_to_3_meters_and_behave_similar_to_manta_raysjpg
35_You_can_clearly_see_the_mouth_is_on_the_underside
36_Many_venus_girdle_(Cestum_veneris-Venusgürtel)_were_in_the_water_betwenn_the_islands
37_This_long_comb_jellyfish_can_have_the_most_beautiful_shapes
38_Beroe_forskalli_a_comb_jellyfish_(Rippenqualle)_of_the_open_ocean
39_Probably_another_Beroe_(Ctenophora-Rippenqualle)
40_Comb_Jellyfish_Leucothea_pulchra
41_Unidentified_Comb_Jellyfish_(Ctenophora-Rippenqualle)
42_Siphonophora_are_small_colonies_of_Hydrozoa_(Staatsqualle)

Beautiful Venus Girdle (Cestum veneri), belonging to the Comb Jellyfish (Ctenophora) and growing up to 1,5 m in length, meander in hundreds through the water. In between a lot of other Comb Jellyfish like the genus Beroe without tentacles. Also Siphonophora can be found. They belong to the order of Hydrozoa and are actually a colony composed of highly specialized individuals, which sting badly. Now we are really  looking forward to further trips to explore the underwater world of Galapagos