Galapagos’ Original Beach Bums

Snugglers and snoozers… Galapagos sea lions at rest.

You can count on it from just about every camera-toting Galapagos visitor… photos of the local sea lions. 

They’re at the dinghy dock, on the park benches, on the beach right next to sunbathers, in any boat hapless enough to not shoo them off….

Galapagos sea lions… big and little,
making themselves at home.

Like town drunks, they’re generally sleeping it off, mostly so snapping a photo, is, well, as snap even for the slowest photographer (ahem – that would include me)….

They snuggle up with each other, snore, grunt, nurse, poop, bark, stink, once in a while swim, and generally make an adorable nuisance of themselves. 

This sea lion looks like he’s saying “Huh?”

Stretch… This Galapagos sea lion asks,“Hey!  Where’s my pillow?” 

“I’m stylin’ now!

A minor influencing factor for our choice to anchor at Puerto Villamil Ilsa Isabela Galapagos is the sea lions are far less a problem here than in more heavily traveled Ilsa Santa Cruz.  There we’re told it’s difficult to keep them off your boat.

“Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!  This boat’s deck
is gonna ooze with some
serious sea lion stink!”

And yet, after nearly a week coming ashore, we start to recognize some of them, like the one who stakes daily claim on the park bench at the foot of the port walkway…. I’d even taken to greeting a few with “Hey Dude!” – wondering if perhaps my greeting should’ve been in Spanish.  Nahhh… these guys are probably bilingual.

So cute!  Don’t you just want to
pat this Galapagos sea lion
on the head?  I wanted to, but know better.

One thing for sure, you know when you see ‘em you’re not in Kansas anymore.

Did the sunbathers lay down first?  Or the sea lions?  Wayne had
a  family of sea lions plop down after he sat down on the beach,
so guessing the sea lions joined the party, rather than initiated it.

Location Location

We’re anchored in Galapagos Ilsa Isabela’s Puerto Villamil (S0.57.924 W90.57.750) where we’resoaking up the exotic mix of diverse land and sea life.  Any day now, though, we’ll be setting sail for the Marquesas – French Polynesia.  It’s a 3,000+ mile stretch of open ocean, no stops in between.  We expect it to take us a little less than a month.